The owner of a fish and chip shop has told how he is losing customers because of a sinkhole on his street - the third in the same area in six months.
Angel Road in Norwich has been closed since Monday due to the hole opening up.
It has since been investigated by Anglian Water as well as Norfolk County Council, which said “considerable damage” had been caused to the street.
Indy Singh, who manages Chish and Fips on the street, said he was “frustrated and annoyed”.
During the first sinkhole episode, which swallowed the tyre of a lorry in December, Mr Singh said business plummeted by 25pc.
He added: “This time, over the past two days, I’ve already noticed a drop in people coming. They see the closed sign and just walk away. It’s a busy road and as a result I have lost all of my passing trade.
“I’m not very happy but what can you do? It just seems like the buck keeps getting passed.
“The first time it happened I didn’t think too much of it as it can happen anywhere, the second time I passed it off as unlucky but the third time is just a joke. It just doesn’t cut it.”
Neighbours have also shared their frustrations over the sinkhole.
Lou Oakham, 45, who works at Aviva, has lived off Angel Road for 17 years and said the sinkhole recurrence was “hilariously ironic”.
She said: “The new sinkhole is just inches from the previous two sinkholes. Locals had seen the road continue to dip and it was of no surprise to us that it happened again.
“The first one was incredibly disruptive and the traffic was absolute chaos but now is best time to have a sinkhole because of lockdown.
“That said, they need to do a proper investigation as it keeps happening.”
David Whittle, who has lived on Angel Road for six years, said the sinkhole was “worrying”.
The 56-year-old added: “It has now happened three times so who knows where holes will next turn up.”
Karl Sutton, who works at Angel Stores which is on the corner of Rosebery Road and Angel Road, said the sinkhole had not caused a disturbance.
He said: “It has not really had any effect on us at all. Deliveries can be a bit of a problem but it’s not too bad.”
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