Hole lot of bother: Road collapses into historic pipe near Newport - with pictures
A busy village road near Newport has had to be closed off after it collapsed into an historic pipe.
Greenvale in Church Aston was built on top of culvert which is believed to be between 150 and 200-years-old.
Repairs could take some time, and investigations into the hole, which was not on any records for the area, are on-going.
Russell Griffin of Telford & Wrekin Council asked residents to bear with the council while work is done.
“Investigations are on-going at the site at Greenvale in Church Aston to assess the extent of the void that has opened up," he said.
“We have come across a historic culvert or pipe that we are estimating to be between 150 and 200 years old.
“This is something we have no records of so at the moment we have limited detail but we are doing the necessary investigations to allow a suitable repair to be undertaken.
“This will mean the road closure will be in place for a little longer and we would ask for residents to bear with us while we gather as much information relating to this as possible.”
Councillor Andrew Eade, ward member for Church Aston, said: "Everybody is pretty shocked.
"It is the first time anybody has ever come across this culvert. The whole thing could be about a mile-and-a-half long. It might have had something to do with Aston Hall.
"I've had a look down there, and the hole is so big you can climb down on a ladder. There is a gas main running right over the top of it – they're probably going to have to redo the whole road."
Mr Eade warned that the closure could cause some issues for residents.
"It's going to affect the buses," he said.
"This is a major job – it's going to be problematic to sort this out."
