In Looking Back in the past we have carried stories about sink holes suddenly appearing around Bolton.

Worsley Road, Farnworth collapse, 1964 (Picture: Newsquest)

But this photo, from January 1964, perhaps illustrates one of the most serious incidents.

It shows the gaping hole on Worsley Road, Farnworth, which ‘swallowed’ two bedrooms of the bungalow belonging to miner William McIvor and his wife.

Furniture and carpets tumbled into the crater which engineers estimated was a 1,000 foot deep mineshaft.

Fortunately the couple had run out of their house just seconds before part of their home disappeared. It had been built in 1926 on the site of the former Stonehill Colliery.

Experts warned that there were 40 or more similar mines shafts in the area but police refused to reveal their locations. A spokesman told the Bolton Evening News: “We don’t want to cause a general scare.”