Homes evacuated and major incident declared after 65ft sinkhole appears in Surrey village

19 February 2025, 00:01

A major incident has been declared and residents have been evacuated after a large sinkhole of at least 65ft (20m) appeared in a Surrey village.

Police evacuated a number of properties and a 100-metre cordon was put in place after the sinkhole on Godstone High Street on Monday night.

Surrey Police said on Tuesday that Godstone High Street was closed following reports of the hole.

Surrey County Council has declared a major incident and local residents have been urged to avoid the area while repair work is being carried out.

SES Water said one of its water main pipes had burst in Godstone High Street.

A spokesperson for the utility said: "The road has been closed and our teams are on site, together with emergency services and other utility providers, working hard to fix this as quickly as possible.

"A diversion route is in place and we are required to redirect traffic onto a like-for-like A-road to ensure the safety of motorists during the repair process.

Read more: United Nations judge forced woman to work as slave after tricking her to come to UK, court hears

Read more: Sara Sharif's father protected by 'Muslim gang' in jail after being attacked with jagged tuna lid

"Unfortunately, the burst has impacted water supplies to homes in the area and we're sorry for the disruption this is causing customers.

"We're working hard to reroute water from across our network to restore supply for those customers."

In a post on Facebook, Surrey Police said: "If you are in the area, please follow the directions of the emergency services.

"There is currently a large emergency services presence in the area. The road is likely to be closed for an extended period of time - please avoid the area if you can."