Residents of Watergate Street in Ellesmere have been unable to access their properties after a sinkhole opened up on a pavement.

Shropshire Council highways team investigated the sinkhole which they suspect was caused by a leaking highways drain.

The one-way road was closed off and is expected to reopen later this week after work has taken place to repair the sinkhole.

Gareth Proffitt, a Shropshire Council spokesman said: "Shropshire Council closed Watergate Street for safety reasons on Friday, May 25 following reports that a hole had appeared in the pavement.

"Council officers subsequently carried out preliminary checks and visited the site again on the morning of Friday, June 1 with a structural engineer from WSP, the council’s engineering consultant, and a representative from Kier, the council’s highways maintenance contractor, to determine the best way forward.

"We now suspect that the hole was caused by a leaking highway drain, and some utility ducting which we’re still investigating.

"We’ll be returning on Monday (yesterday) to begin repair work, and estimate that this may take two to three days. Once this work is completed the road will then be reopened."

This isn't the first sinkhole to appear in the town – in August 2015, a four-foot sinkhole appeared in Swan Mere Court which swallowed up part of the car park in Swan Hill following heavy rain.

The sinkhole took three month to be repaired after Severn Trent discovered damage to a large section of the pipe.