Major incident declared after large sinkhole appears outside houses

A council has declared a major incident after a massive sinkhole appeared in a high street in Surrey.

The hole first appeared in Godstone High Street late on Monday night, growing to at least 65ft (20m) long by Tuesday lunchtime.

A number of homes have been evacuated, with at least one garden falling into the hole.

By Tuesday morning, police had told residents in William Way to "get out as quickly as possible" over fears of an explosion caused by exposed cables.

As a result of the major incident, the operation is now being managed by Surrey Local Resilience Forum, with Surrey County Council (SCC) as the lead agency.

Investigations remain ongoing to make the area safe and to repair utilities, SCC said.

Carl Bussey, the council's assistant director for safer communities, said: "Residents from within the cordon – around 30 properties – are being supported by Tandridge District Council with advice around accommodation."

Noosh Miri and her family were among those evacuated from the area by police.

"We got a violent knocking on the door. As I opened the door, it sounded like I was in a waterfall because the sinkhole was right in front of my doorstep," she said.

"The policewoman told us we needed to get out straight away, and in the space of 10 minutes, we got the kids dressed, we grabbed the nearest things that we could find."

The family have now been found temporary accommodation by their insurers, but she said she was prepared "for a good couple of months" before being able to move back in.

SES Water is to open a water station at 07:30 GMT for those that have lost supply.

Road diversions remain in place in the area.

Repairs are expected to take several months.