A "gigantic sinkhole" has emerged on a popular walkway just metres from a main road. The void was found at around 9.30am on Saturday, January 14 on common land near Graig-y-Rhacca housing estate in Caerphilly.
Janet Evans came across the "30 feet wide by six to 10 feet deep" hole while walking her dog in the greenery just off Addison Way road. The 60-year-old, who works in dam safety at Welsh Water, said: "We went up Addison Way [to the cycle track]. As we were passing this one particular area of trees, I could hear water gushing.
"This is rather unusual because there is no water source up there. I looked over the brambles and low and behold, there was a sinkhole. Judging by the look of the soil, it happened overnight. Part of my training is in soil erosion, where we learn about how the water can creep through the earth and cause erosion, so I knew what it was when I saw it. This wasn't just a pothole, this was a gigantic crater."
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Janet said she rang the police and emergency number at Caerphilly council. When two council workers met her at the site later that day, she said they were "gobsmacked" by the scale of the hole. Janet said it formed in the middle of a walking path around 15 metres from Addison Way road - the main route in and out of Graig-y-Rhacca.
"It could have happened when I took the dog for a walk this morning," she said. "It's frightening to think that could just happen at any time. I could see it was not only a danger to anyone walking their dogs, but it was also pretty close to the roadside. There is a possibility if it isn't looked at, that the erosion could go under the road and the road could collapse."
According to Janet, the area is widely used by local residents who enjoy walking through the greenery. she said: "[The area is] more popular now than it ever has been. We as a community got the council ranger to mow down parts so we could walk around. It's more popular now because it's more accessible. They also created two entrances as the rest is fenced out and there are brambles on the roadside."
Caerphilly council has been approached for comment.
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