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The sinkhole
A 15ft deep hole opened up on a popular Devon beach on Thursday.

A large part of the beach in Exmouth has been closed to the public over fears of further sinkholes appearing in the sane.

One beach-goer reported the discovery to the coastguard near Orcombe Point.

Specialist teams secured the area and on arrival found a hole approximately 15ft wide and the same distance down had appeared and was filled with water.

The surrounding sand was also soft, with fresh holes starting to appear nearby.

East Devon District Council said a 100m squared cordon has now been put in place after concern was raised that the hole may be indicative of a much larger chamber underneath.

It has now been filled with water after the tide came in.

Adam Williams, 32, who is holidaying in Exmouth, said: "It is certainly not what you expect to see on the beach.

"It is a real shame that such a large part of it has had to close - especially with the warm weather we have been having over the last few days. Hopefully they will be able to re-open it soon."

Exmouth Coastguard said: "Please keep away and do not enter the cordon.

"Although it doesn't look like it, We've estimated the depth of the soft sand in at around 10-15ft."