Sinkhole appears in middle of residential Horwich road

Part of the road collapsed on Mount Street, off Chorley New Road, Horwich, and is taking up around half of its width. 

United Utilities engineers and Bolton Council have both been to the site, which a local councillor saying the road has had sinkhole issues previously.

Cllr Ryan Bamforth of Horwich North went to the site with United Utilities engineers on Wednesday, July 31. 

The hole is on Mount Street (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr Bamforth said: "They have sent a camera through the system, it was pretty impressive to see. 

"Through surface drainage and through human waste as well. A lot of silt is blocking up the bottom of the road. 

"It is really interesting to see. The silt is not causing a major issue, but they have said that it needs to be cleared as a preventative measure." 

He says there was an initial collapse last year, before this recent sinkhole appeared this summer. 

United Utilities put green dye in to test the system for leaks (Image: Cllr Ryan Bamforth)

United Utilities engineers used green dye and a remote controlled camera to test drains and pipes for leaks. 

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Cllr Bamforth added: "There is human waste in the hole in the ground that is coming from somewhere. 

A camera device used by United Utilities for the tests (Image: Cllr Ryan Bamforth)

"The camera went about 25 metres to Chorley New Road. As it is now, the council are going to go back out going to excavate more of the road. 

"It is quite a sizable hole, around a metre and a half deep. It is a big old hole, monstrous." 

Cllr Bamforth warns people to keep away, as the hole is large and deep and has human waste in it. 

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “Our teams attended to help the council investigate the cause of the sink hole. 

"We found no issues with any of our assets and have passed our findings onto the council.”