This was the scene after a pavement collapsed in Great Yarmouth, leaving a road sweeper trapped in a hole.

Neighbours along Northgate Street reported being woken up after the pavement suddenly gave way early this morning while the sweeper was making its way down the footway. The vehicle dropped into the hole and was left stuck in the pavement at an angle.

The driver reportedly had to be helped out of the sweeper but was not injured.

Gordon Laird, who lives opposite the site, said he woke up at around 8am to see the sweeper being recovered.

'When I got out of bed there was a big lorry outside my house with a crane on it, picking it out of the pavement. I didn't know what was going on,' he added.

Highway workers from Norfolk County Council are currently on the scene, by the entrance to Northgate Hospital, and have set up traffic lights so they can investigate what caused the pavement to subside.

Nigel Seago, Highways Area Manager, said: 'Initial investigations indicate the subsoil below the pavement in this section of Northgate Street has been washed away.

'It is too early to pinpoint exactly what has happened here but once we have removed the paving slabs and undertaken further explorations we will have a clearer idea.

'Temporary traffic controls will be in place until the problem is fixed and the footway can be returned to normal use.'

Pedestrians are being diverted into the road to walk round the collapse.