Car swallowed by 30ft sinkhole in High Wycombe

A 30ft deep sinkhole which has opened up in the driveway of a house in High Wycombe (PA)

A car has been swallowed by a 30-ft deep “sinkhole” outside a family home.

Firefighters were called to the property in Walter's Ash, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, at 8.32am on Sunday morning.

No one was inside Volkswagen Lupo when the 15ft-wide hole opened up.

Phil Conran, the stepfather of car’s teenage owner, said the hole appeared without warning. 

The 59 year old told the Daily Mail: "At 7am my daughter normally goes to the stables. She went out the front door and instead of her car being there, there was a huge hole." 

Sinkholes, which are extremely rare in this country, are caused by a depression or collapse of earth beneath the surface.

A Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "Firefighters were called to a sinkhole which swallowed a parked car in the driveway of a house in Main Road, Walter's Ash.

"Firefighters placed a cordon around it and gave safety advice.

"The incident was handed over to building control at Wycombe District Council. Firefighters were at the scene for about an hour."