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YORKSHIRE Water has revealed a large sinkhole that appeared in a Bradford street today, where water was gushing ferociously below it, was caused by sewer damage.

The crevice was discovered in Church Street, just off Heaton Road, in Manningham.

It was around three metres deep and a torrent of water could be seen at the bottom of the hole, disappearing through small gaps as it ran down in the direction of Skinner Lane.

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A police cordon had to be put in place from the morning into the early afternoon, between the road’s junction with Rose Street and Lily Street, to prevent vehicles and pedestrians coming in close proximity of the sinkhole.

Yorkshire Water said the collapse of the road was caused by a damaged sewer.

An engineer from the utility company arrived at 2.10pm.

The police cordon had been replaced by roadwork barriers, which were tight around the sinkhole, and construction tape.

The engineer was visibly shocked by what he saw and rang for backup, with another worker then arriving.

Both staff members were clad in high-vis jackets and helmets, while one of them had worker wellingtons on.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said at 3.33pm on Wednesday: “Our teams are currently on site at Church Street and will be repairing a sewer, which had damaged the highway.

“Traffic management will be in place to allow them to complete the work safely.”

The workers could be seen assessing the hole for a while, using a huge measuring stick to figure out its depth and a tape measure for the circumference.

Church Street sits between two schools - Miriam Lord Community Primary School and Westbourne Primary School.

Adults with children looked over inquisitively at the sinkhole, with some even moving towards the construction tape to get a closer view.

A woman who spotted the police cordon in the morning initially wondered if there had been a shooting and claimed damage to the road was an annual occurrence.

She even joked there might be diamonds down the hole.

Councillor Sarfraz Nazir (Lab, Manningham) said: “It is good that the road has been cautioned off for safety, but it is also worrying that something like this has happened.

“Hopefully we can get to the bottom of what has caused it.

“It is difficult to know as of yet, and it may take a while to get all the details and to find out who’s culpable for it or what it is linked to.

“It is concerning that this has happened, but hopefully the issue gets addressed as a matter of urgency, as it is surely causing issues for local residents on Church Street and the streets adjoining it.”