A family didn’t know what to do when a huge hole appeared in their front lawn and rusty steps went into the dark.
The seven-foot-deep hole showed up while 45-year-old Emma James was mowing the yard.
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There are some old steps that lead down into the dark hole, but it’s not big enough to fit right now.
Mrs. James, a school assistant teacher, and her 48-year-old husband Kevin have tried calling the company that built the house in 1984 but have not been able to find out what the hole goes to.
She said: ‘It is really odd as there are steps which lead down but we don’t know what to and there was no lid or cover on it.
‘We first thought it had a metal casing but there is concrete down there with metal steps.
‘It just seems as though it has been forgotten about but there must be a planning record somewhere to explain what it is.
‘We just want someone to come out and tell us what it is so we can sort it out. I don’t want to just leave a hole in my front lawn.’
In fact, a spokesman for Buckinghamshire County Council has now revealed that the “mystery” tunnel does lead to a drain that was covered up more than 30 years ago
A spokesperson added, ‘Mr James confirmed to us that the opening was in the middle of his garden, nowhere near the highway, and entirely on his own private property. It appeared that it was some kind of drain that had been covered over during the development of the dwellings some 35 years before.’
The couple had lived in the house in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, for eight years with no problems. They have two children.
But Mrs. James recently saw a dip in the grass when she was cutting the yard.
She said: ‘It was giving way as I was standing on it and there was clearly a little hole there so we got a shovel to move the grass roots and it just caved in.
‘It was a bit scary and we all jumped back but when we looked down we couldn’t see anything.
‘We haven’t dug anymore around it as I’m not sure if it is safe and I don’t want to make it worse.
‘I just hope that another hole doesn’t suddenly appear.
‘Someone could fall down it. Over Christmas we had the cars parked on there so they could have gone in.’
Mr. James has asked the city government and utility companies to fix the hole, but no one has come forward.
They have been using cones and a piece of wood to keep people from falling into it as a safety measure.