Children living in a Norfolk suburb are being banned from playing outside, in case they get swallowed up by the ground beneath their feet. According to residents in Thorpe Hamlet, four sinkholes have emerged since the end of January, raising concerns from parents that their kids, cars, and even their homes may be lost to a newly formed crater.
Heavy winter rainfall is being blamed for causing cracks in the ground, sometimes as deep as 8ft. Large areas of Norwich, which Thorpe Hamlet is to the east of, are made up of sand and chalk, which may explain why the seasonal deluge is causing such devastation.
Trees have begun to sink and in other areas, buildings have begun to crack due to the instability of the ground beneath them.
Residents told The Sun that four sinkholes have sprung up since January 25 and are deteriorating on a daily basis, with some locals having to move to alternative accommodation.
Shirwan Saed told the publication that he no longer allows his son to cycle along the disintegrating roads.
The 39-year-old said: “My six-year-old son, Ara, used to ride his bike outside, we could see him from the window and thought he was safe but now there’s a large sinkhole with a safety barrier around it and it’s getting bigger every day.
“It’s just too risky to let him out to play any longer.”
Other vulnerable people in the Norwich suburb are contending with having to leave their homes.
Disabled resident Toni Yallop lives with her husband Chris in Thorpe Hamlet and he spotted a sinkhole in their garden.
The hole has consumed the bottom part of one of their trees and now the couple is facing the possibility of having to move as the ground beneath their house may be “subsiding”.
She said: “It’s a huge hole, about twenty-five feet wide and eight feet deep.
“He immediately complained to the council as we also noticed our garden gate is leaning at a strange angle and we fear the house and garden are also subsiding.
“The council has rehoused my neighbour from the bungalow next door and wants us to leave urgently too. However, the accommodation we were offered isn’t suitable as I’m disabled.
“I look out every day and see the tree in the sinkhole get lower and lower and my garden gradually subsiding.
“Will I wake up one morning to find part of my bungalow has disappeared too?”
At the same time, 63-year-old NHS worker Terri Hall, says she has stopped walking her dog and taking him off the lead due to her fears about him falling into the craters.
She said: “I’m now extremely nervous about walking Buddy, I keep him on a tight lead because you can’t be sure when another hole might open up and he’d fall in.
“It’s a terrible situation and requires much more to be done.”
Express.co.uk has approached Norwich City Council for comment.
