Massive sinkhole opens up in Southport, UK

A sink hole in Churchtown village has caused traffic chaos

A busy road junction in Southport is likely to be closed "for several weeks" after a collapsed sewer caused a large sink hole to appear.

The hole, which is 15ft by 10ft, is at the traffic lights at the junction of the A565 (Cambridge Road) and the A5267 (Preston New Road) in Churchtown.

The sewer collapse caused delays for drivers heading through the village, and motorists commuting from Southport to Preston.

Engineers were on site all day today using tankers to pump water from the hole.

United Utilities spokesman John Martin said: "We've now managed to pump the majority of water away which was escaping from the collapsed sewer.

"This has allowed us to CCTV the sewer pipe which has confirmed the large hole in the road was a result of the sewer collapsing underneath."

He added: "The next stage of work will be to put in some temporary pipes to prevent further flooding.

"We also need some cables to be moved from our working area so we can dig down and expose the damaged pipe.

"From this point, without seeing the full extent of the damaged pipe, we envisage we'll be on site for several weeks.

"We would urge commuters travelling in and around the area to leave some extra time to make their journey. And we're very sorry for the disruption."