Almost a year after a massive sinkhole opened under the bowling greens of the Diggers Sports Club at Wallsend, members say they are losing faith in the process to bring the community institution back from dereliction.
Several long-term members, speaking on condition of anonymity because they say they have been threatened with expulsion if they speak out about the ordeal, said the bowling club was left to "rack and ruin" in the months since a mine subsidence caused large swathes of the greens bordering Fogo Street to sink over a rainy weekend in March 2023.
