Storm Ciara: Car falls into huge sinkhole as heavy rain continues to batter parts of UK

Driver walks away unhurt after vehicle becomes trapped in two-metre-deep hole

A car plunged into a large sinkhole in Essex on Monday after a weekend of heavy rain caused by Storm Ciara.

The driver is believed to have walked away unharmed from the incident, which occurred early on Monday on a residential road in Brentwood, Essex.

As a result of this event, residents from six homes on the same street were evacuated.

A Toyota car in a sinkhole which appeared overnight in Hatch Road, Brentwood, in the wake of Storm Ciara. (Nick Ansell/PA Wire/PA Images)

Photographs from the scene show the car trapped in the sinkhole, with open doors and inflated airbags.

It is thought that the car, a Toyota, was on the move when the hole emerged.

Gordon Humphrey, who lives close to the sinkhole, told the Press Association that he and his wife heard a “bang” before noticing the car in the hole.

Humphrey added: “You could hear the water bubbling, see the taillights and there was a smell of gas.”

According to the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, firefighters were alerted to the partially-collapsed road, in the Pilgrims Hatch area, a little after 1.30am on Monday morning.

A car is removed from a sinkhole in Brentwood, Essex. (Nick Ansell/PA Wire/PA Images)

Crews made the area safe by 3.53am before leaving it to Anglian Water and Essex and Suffolk Water.

A spokesman for Anglian Water said the company was investigating the sink hole, adding: “We are working with other utilities (water and gas) plus the local police to assess if any of our pipes have been damaged”.

Work to remove the car from the sinkhole, which is partially filled with water and around two-metres deep, began before midday and was completed on Monday afternoon.

A sinkhole in Brentwood, Essex, following the removal of a car which became trapped in it overnight. (Nick Ansell/PA Wire/PA Images)

The fallout from Storm Ciara continues, with ongoing power outages, flooding and travel disruption. In the wake of the storm, 20cm of snow is expected to fall in certain areas of the UK.

Additional reporting from the Press Association.