Dangerous sinkhole opens up in Gateshead, UK - 'Someone could have been killed'
Worried parents have told of their fears after a 5ft deep sink hole appeared in a Tyneside road.
The hole, measuring 2ft wide, suddenly appeared in Windsor Avenue in Bensham, Gateshead, on Thursday as families were soaking up the sunshine.
Police and council officials were called to make the area safe.
Now mums have said a child could have been killed if they had fallen through the Tarmac.
Sophie Storey, 20, who lives on the road and has 10-month-old Angelica, said: "This is worrying. I walk over that part of the road daily. It could have happened at any point or when we were walking over it. Angelica's pushchair could have gone down it. It's really sickening when I think what could have happened. It's a deep hole, a child could have been seriously injured or even killed, who knows what could have happened."
Sophie, who lives with partner, university student Cameron Mason, 19, added: "Quite a lot of small kids play in the road and this could have ended up being a very serious incident. It was lucky no one was hurt."
Mum-of-three Emily Fairlamb, 32, of Felling, visits her mum Elizabeth Vicarage, 53, who lives in the next street to where the hole appeared.
She said: "We always walk across that part of the road to walk through the alley to go to Coatsworth Road. It could have been us falling down that hole.
"I have a son who is seven, a daughter who is six and Sebastian who is two. They could have been walking across it when it gave way. My mam walks with a stick and it could have been her. Someone could have been very seriously hurt, you could break a leg or anything. It is scary to think this has happened on our usual route."
Grandmother Elizabeth said: "It could have been so serious, anyone could have gone through that. It looks like it was a mine shaft or something, this area is littered with disused mines."
Grandad-of-three Malcolm Whitfield, 61, whose flat is directly opposite the hole, said: "I usually park my car there, it was a good job I had gone to pick up my wife. Over the past few weeks a dip has appeared in the road and when it rains a puddle forms. Now it has totally dropped through and a 5ft deep hole is there. Men from a drainage company arrived and they lifted a nearby manhole cover to check for pressure of the water pipes and then they went. We have barriers around it now until something is done."
A spokesman for Gateshead Council said: "Engineers from Gateshead Council have carried out an initial inspection and have made the site secure. The underlying cause of the failure is now being investigated."
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