Concern as tiny crack ‘keeps getting bigger’
ENGINEERS ARE LOOKING INTO ‘CRUMBLING HOLE’ ISSUE
RESIDENTS in a Teesside street had a sinking feeling when they unexpectedly saw a hole appear in the road near their home.
They say what started off as a tiny crack just days ago in a parking area in Brotton has continued to increase in size and depth over the past few days.
However, after reporting it, council engineers were due on site on Friday to look into the problem.
Timothy Lee, who lives in the village’s Jackson Street, said he didn’t think much of it when he first noticed a small crack in the road, but every time he passed it he could see it was getting bigger.
The 60-year-old said: “When we first noticed it, it was just a tiny hole – but every day it was just getting bigger.
“The sides are crumbling away into the hole and it is very, very deep. I tried to look down with a torch, but couldn’t see the bottom. It looks like it stretches out under the tarmac.”
He said another hole looks like it is starting to appear close to it.
Timothy, who is known locally as Boris, a nickname he was given when he moved to Brotton and residents thought he resembled former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said: “If someone’s foot went down the hole they would break their leg.”
He and his wife, who moved to Brotton from Leicester five years ago, contacted the ward councillors for Redcar and Cleveland Council in a bid to prevent the situation getting any worse.
Coun Graham Culter, who represents the ward, said: “It was reported to us and we went straight round to have a look. The hole looks to be about six inches across.
“I don’t think there is any immediate danger, but our engineers are going out this afternoon to get it sorted.”
Despite the hole saga, Timothy said he loves where he lives. He said: “People know me as Boris because when we first came they said I looked and sounded like Boris Johnson.
“We chose here because it is near the seaside and the moors. We love it here.”
I tried to look down with a torch, but couldn’t see the
bottom.
Timothy Lee