Ripon hole in Britain's sinkhole hotspot

Updated


The British Geological Survey has said that a sinkhole which swallowed the back garden of a home in Ripon, North Yorkshire is in one of Britain's sinkhole hotspots.

It measured 20m by 10m and was 9m deep at the back of a house on Magdalen's Road.

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According to the BBC, the British Geological Survey said Ripon lies in one of the most susceptible areas of the UK for sinkholes because of its "Permian gypsum deposits".

Ripon sinkhole
Ripon sinkhole



These can dissolve quicker than surrounding limestone.

The BGS added that sinkholes are usually caused by water penetrating the ground.

Frances O'Neill, 74, spoke of her lucky escape when the sinkhole opened.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: "I was going into the garden when I realised the ground was moving underneath me. I grabbed a pole and pulled myself back up onto the patio."

O'Neill said she heard a "tremendous noise".

Residents were evacuated and the area remains cordoned off.

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