Hole in the road after sewage pipe collapses

A hole appeared dramatically in the middle of a busy shopping road on Friday afternoon.

Subsidence had been visible in St Leonard's Road, Windsor for a couple of weeks and Thames Water contractors had been to the scene.

Sebastian Smith, co-owner of Castle PC computer shop, said: "It was still just a small area of subsidence on Friday afternoon. Then a mate came to the shop and I went to show him the dip in the road and saw to my horror, that over the previous few minutes it had turned into a hole."

Mr Smith immediately called Thames Water while he and his neighbours tried to warn approaching cars about the hole.

He said: "One woman just ignored us and drove a speed right over the hole, making a horrible crash. It can't have done her car any good."

Men who arrived on the scene instantly cordoned the hole off, reducing traffic flow in the busy road to one lane.

Mr Smith said he was shown camera images revealing that a sewage pipe 4.5 metres down had collapsed. Clearing away soil to expose the damage had left a void three metres long directly under the surface making the road too dangerous for vehicles.

This week Craig Rance from Thames Water said: "Once we have dug down to the pipe we will have a clearer picture on how long the repair will take.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”