Suddenly the ground opens swallowing up a parked family car

A massive sinkhole has burst open on a residential street in London yesterday – swallowing up a parked family car. Woodland Terrace in Charlton in the south east of the city has been closed after the road’s surface gave way overnight following 24 hours of heavy rainfall. The crack opened up a huge crater estimated to be at least 30ft in length and 10ft wide, dropping around a further 10ft into the ground. It burst open beneath a blue Vauxhall Zafira, which was then plunged into the cavernous pit that locals have dubbed ‘a portal to hell’. All that can be seen of the vehicle yesterday morning is its front end, with its rear wheels at least ten feet below the surface of the road.