A HUNTINGDON man made a ground-breaking discovery – when a 4ft hole appeared in the road outside his home. Peter Jefferies, of Othello Close, said: I looked out my window to see a refuse lorry parked in front of my driveway. When I went out to investiga

A HUNTINGDON man made a ground-breaking discovery - when a 4ft hole appeared in the road outside his home.

Peter Jefferies, of Othello Close, said: "I looked out my window to see a refuse lorry parked in front of my driveway.

"When I went out to investigate, I found the road surface had collapsed and there was a hole measuring four feet long by two feet wide and four feet deep right in front of my driveway."

The hole is believed to have been caused on Friday by a storm drain breaking. Water was then able to run underneath the road, causing the surface to collapse.

A Huntingdonshire District Council worker acted swiftly to minimise the danger.

A spokesman for HDC said: "One of refuse vehicle drivers, Ian Malyon, noticed the hole in the road and parked over it to avoid anyone driving or walking in to it."

Cambridgeshire County Council's highways team was notified and cordoned off the area.

Mr Jefferies said: "I am annoyed but not surprised. In the past, I have written to HDC about the state of the infrastructure in Othello Close and other areas and have had no response.

"It wasn't until I reported the collapse of the road to the district council that they informed me it was a county council responsibility."

Louise Collier, Cambridgeshire County Council's head of network management for the area, said: "This was a just little void that has appeared. We cannot see into the future so could not predict this.

"There were no indications that this was going to happen, no potholes or cracks in the road - it is just something that happens when water gets under the road but it does not occur very often."

Repair work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.