Video footage has been released showing a sinkhole that opened up on a residential street in St Albans in Hertfordshire, forcing the evacuation of several families from their homes early on 1 October.

In a statement Hertfordshire County Council said its Resilience Team and Fire and Rescue Service were called at 12.30am and continue to work with Hertfordshire Constabulary and St Albans City and District Council.

A reception centre for residents was set up at Batchwood Leisure Centre, St Albans. Five households, in total 20 people, were evacuated at 2.15am, no-one has been injured and no house has been damaged, the statement said. The hole on Fontmell Close measures around 20m by 20m and is approximately 10m deep according to the statement.

Fifty-two properties in the area are without gas, electric and water while highways engineers assess the situation, before the crater is filled in. Hertfordshire County Council said they were informed about a hole in the footpath and work was scheduled to fill it in on Thursday, a prior inspection found there was no reason to suspect that the hole would collapse.

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