Three cars swallowed up by 50ft giant sinkhole as residential road surface collapses

A BMW is among 3 cars falling into a 50ft sinkhole connected a residential thoroughfare yesterday.

The cars were swallowed up by the 50ft elephantine sinkhole arsenic the roadworthy aboveground collapsed.

Firefighters raced to the country aft the tarmac successful South Shields, South Tyneside, gave way.

Luckily, nary 1 was wounded but a fig of families surviving adjacent were evacuated arsenic a precaution.

Owner Kiera Hall, 17, broke down aft spotting her marque caller Fiat 500 was 1 of the 3 motors.

The A-level student, who has lone conscionable passed her test, said: "My car was vertical successful the spread - I burst into tears.

"But I got truly lucky, there’s lone a people connected the front."

Lucy Mouter, 33, looked retired to spot her boyfriend's BMW disappearing into the abyss.

She phoned him to interruption the atrocious news - adding: "He was rather shocked.

"The residents successful the location next to wherever the sinkhole is person been removed."

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said it received a telephone astatine astir 5.30am and closed the roadworthy immediately.