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House demolished after sinkhole opens up in Ripon

Little remains of a house, which has had to be demolished after a 25 feet-wide sinkhole opened up in Ripon in North Yorkshire.

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Homeowners 'very distressed' at collapse danger

A councillor said he has spoken to the family living in the house on the verge of collapse and that they were "very distressed".

Local residents said there was a long-standing problem with gypsum-related subsidence in the area which had caused other homes to collapse over the years.

"I'm a little bit shocked by what's happened today. Surprised? Perhaps not, because there is a history in Ripon of gypsum dissolution.

"Whether this is actually down to gypsum, I don't know. I think it's too early to say. I suspect it is."

"My thoughts go out the the residents who were actually living in the house.

"It must be tremendously worrying at this point.

"I've spoken to them this morning and offered my support.

"They were very distressed this morning and they just wanted to get some sort of normality back into their lives."

– Stuart Martin, local Tory councillor on Harrogate Borough Council

The British Geological Survey has said that the most susceptible area in the UK for sinkholes is the Permian gypsum deposits of north-east England, particularly around Ripon.

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House demolished after sinkhole opens up in Ripon

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