sinkhole Swineshead
The road began to collapse around the bus in Swineshead
A bus carrying schoolchildren began to sink in to the ground as a huge hole opened up and road underneath it.

The Brylaine bus was transporting children home from Boston Grammar School and the town's High School at around 4.30pm on Wednesday, July 11.

As the bus pulled in to drop a student off in High Green Road, Swineshead, its back end began to sink as the road began to collapse.

Brylaine operations director Malcolm Wheatley said the only thing stopping the bus from falling further into the deep 6ft hole was the vehicle's frame.

sinkhole swineshead
He said: "The driver pulled up to drop off a student and as the bus was standing, the road gave way. We attended after we were made aware of what had happened and escorted the remaining students carefully and safety from the bus. We were very lucky that nobody was injured in anyway.

"The picture shows the hole at the surface where the bus dropped in. The void under the road, which appeared to be covered by about six to eight inches of tarmac extended for 11ft to the centre of the road and about 5ft along the kerb beyond what the pictures show.

"It was the frame on the bus that stopped the whole of the back end sinking in to the road."

A recovery vehicle was used to pull the bus out of the hole.

The bus company has now said its K59 service we run along South Street in Swinshead until further notice.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "This section of road has been repaired several times in the past couple of years. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the bus was sinking into the ground.

"The bus was just dropping off a student. Luckily they got everyone off the bus safely and managed to remove the bus before the collapsed altogether. It doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened."

The road has been closed in both directions while repairs are carried out.

The local highways manager said: "A section of South Street has collapsed, with the void extending across the carriageway. The road has been closed. Anglian Water and British Gas have been contacted and will be inspecting the site. Once that investigation has concluded, we'll have a clearer idea of what works are necessary to repair the road and how long that might take. In the meantime, motorists will need to use an alternative route."