Town centre brought to a standstill after 15-foot sinkhole appears in Northampton, UK

Enormous: The hole opened up on Earl Street, Northampton, at about 2pm on Thursday

    

A busy town centre was brought to a standstill this afternoon after a mysterious 15-foot sinkhole opened up in the road without warning - almost swallowing a number of cars in the process.

Motorists had to swerve out of the way of the giant hole after it appeared on the residential Earl Street in Northampton at around 2pm, just hours after part of a London pavement collapsed, swallowing a pedestrian.

Shocking pictures show the gaping chasm - which was around eight foot (2.4 metres) wide - with a section of surrounding road also looking on the verge of collapse.

Police quickly closed off Earl Street, causing traffic chaos and leaving locals without water following damage to a water main.

A barmaid from the Charles Bradlaugh pub, opposite the hole, who did not wish to be named, said: 'We saw it from inside the pub.

'It was weird. It just collapsed but it gave way really slowly. It was gradual.

'I am not at all sure why it happened. It was really strange.'

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Eyewitness Matthew Green, 24, was in the pub when he heard a loud bang.

He said: 'I was just having a drink with my mate when there was this loud crashing noise.

'I thought there had been an accident but when I went outside, I saw the road had collapsed.

'The hole is massive. It must nearly cover half of the width of the whole road.

'Police were here pretty quick but cars had to swerve out of the way until we went out and stopped them

'It is incredible. It is like something you would see in a disaster movie.'

Van driver Chris Williams, 30, who was stuck in the traffic which backed as a result of the hole, added: 'I couldn't believe it.

'There was loads of traffic. It was horrendous. It backed up for a good few miles.'

He added: 'It was very inconvenient.'

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said the incident had been handed over to Anglian Water from the Highways Authority and they were no longer involved.

An Anglian Water spokesman added: 'We are still working to get the problem resolved.

'We do not yet know what caused it but fortunately nobody was injured.

'There were six properties without water in the area and it could be days or a couple of weeks until the road is reopened.'

Meanwhile, investigations are continuing into how the pavement outside a cafe in Fulham, south-west London, came to collapse at about 8.50am.

A woman, said to be in her 40s, had to be hospitalised after she fell through the hole into the basement of a cafe.

Coincidence: The five foot wide by two and a half foot long hole which suddenly appeared in London today

    

Passers-by reported hearing a loud scream before the woman fell into the gap and early reports suggested she had been pushing a pram - although it's now thought it was a shopping trolley.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council said that it is investigating claims that the cafe owner raised the issue with the council two months ago and the causes of the collapse.

A council spokeswoman added: 'The council's structural engineer has carried out an initial investigation of the basement collapse in North End Road and secured the site.

'The freeholder of the property is legally responsible for the structural integrity of their basement but we are carrying out a full review of what's happened and will ensure the site is made safe and all necessary actions are taken once we have a full understanding of how this occurred.'