Road sealed off as giant hole appears
A stretch of road in Shropshire was today sealed off after it vanished down a giant hole in the wake of torrential downpours.
The road, between Broughton and Winchester Farm in Claverley, near Bridgnorth, collapsed after water ran off a nearby pool flooding the road.
It comes just six months after tunnelling badgers left the same stretch on the verge of collapse and emergency repairs had to be carried out.
A Shropshire Council spokesman said the damage in April caused by the badgers was not linked to the road's collapse following last week's flash floods.
Councillor Simon Jones, the council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The road between Broughton and Winchester Farm was damaged at the start of last week following the prolonged and heavy rainfall.
"The damage appears to have happened when a nearby pool overflowed, causing severe erosion of the roadside verge and damaging the road's foundations.
"The council's drainage team will be carrying out further investigations and our consultants, Mouchel, are looking into repairs to the road.
"Unfortunately, it will have to remain closed to through traffic until repairs are complete."
A resident, who wished not to be named, said he believed the road dated back to the Roman period.
He said: "There seems to be big pieces of pebble underneath it where the old road would have been.
"The road's been blocked since last week and some plastic barriers have been put up. People have been travelling from miles away to see it."
The road was also closed off in April when badger runs under the road were reinforced to prevent a collapse.
