Norfolk man's frustration as car damaged as sinkhole opens

Greg Hacon, 40, was left feeling frustrated after driving over the large hole in Low Road, near Hingham, on Sunday, December 18, while he and his wife Clare were making their way to a Christmas service at Wymondham Abbey just before 5pm.

The incident left Mr Hacon's car with "tyre failure" and undrivable.

A spokesperson for Anglian Water, which is working to fix the sinkhole, apologised for the disruption and said a number of pipes have burst after the sudden rise in temperatures. 

The sinkhole had formed in the road off the B1108, heading towards Wicklewood.

Mr Hacon, who lives in Hingham, said the hole was "unavoidable" due to its size.

"The hole measured over one metre in length, 40cm in width and at least 10cm in depth," said Mr Hacon.

"The debris from the hole alone is dangerous to all road users and has clearly been created by the recent cold spell.

"It's now being made bigger by every single vehicle that falls into it."

Mr Hacon said the damage from the pothole had punctured both of his "brand new near-side tyres".

"It also ripped the side walls out, buckled at least one, if not both alloys and potentially damaged my suspension at the front and back," he added.

"If a cyclist or motorcyclist hits this hole or even the loose debris being thrown from this hole, the impact could be catastrophic."

Norfolk County Council confirmed it was aware of the sinkhole but Anglian Water is leading on the repairs.

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: "As the temperatures rise after the recent cold snap, burst pipes become much more likely as they expand with the warmer weather.

"Our teams are working round the clock to repair any problems on our network. We are very sorry for any disruption this is causing; our aim is to get things back to normal as quickly as possible."