Car trapped as sinkhole opens up in middle of busy road

Bystanders were left shocked when a sinkhole opened up in a busy street, trapping a car and prompting police to close the road.

The car's front wheel was trapped after the sinkhole - caused by a collapsed sewer - opened up but fortunately nobody was injured.

Motorists were forced to drive around the hole in Worksop, Nottinghamshire after it opened up at 9am on Saturday morning.

But one car drove straight into it and got wedged.

The driver of the Skoda Fabia had to be helped from the car, but is not believed to have been hurt.

Russell Gull, the owner of Res Barbers, helped the trapped driver out of his sunken car.

He said: "The first thing I noticed was a man warning us there was a pothole. One car went round it but the next just drove straight ahead and dove right in.

"We helped the guy out, he was elderly, but seemed okay, just a bit shaken."

Police closed the road and Severn Trent said it had sent teams to the scene to fix the problem.

Read more: Angry homeowners hit out at developers over 'joke' new build homes

A spokesperson said: "We're really sorry for the disruption that's been caused by a collapsed sewer pipe on Carlton Road.

"For the safety of our teams, and other road users, we have closed a section of the road as our engineers work.

"This is a complex repair that requires careful planning, but it will be our absolute priority to get the pipe fixed, and everything put back to normal as quickly, and safely as possible."

Nottinghamshire County Council confirmed it was also monitoring the situation.

Locals have reportedly said the area is prone to holes forming as the road is built on top of an old drain.