A HEREFORD street will be closed for longer than originally planned after a sinkhole appeared.

Tennyson Close, off Shakespeare Road in the Whitecross area of the city, was shut yesterday (September 30). The council originally planned for it to be closed for three days, with an urgent closure order put in place until 11.59pm on October 2. However, the closure has now been extended until October 4.

The council says that delays are likely in the area as a result of the closure.

The closure is said to be for sinkhole remedial works.

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According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), a sinkhole is "a natural surface depression caused by dissolution of soluble rocks at depth".

While gradual dissolution happening underground can cause a sinkhole to form, several things can make the cavities appear.

Heavy rain or surface flooding can initiate their collapse, along with human triggers such as construction work, leaking drainage pipes, burst water mains and groundwater abstraction, according to the BGS.