Dramatic eyewitness photos have emerged of a large sinkhole that has opened up on a residential street in Gorton yesterday evening.
The crater is confirmed to have appeared on Walmer Street in Abbey Hey.
Although no exact details explaining the cause of the collapse have yet been confirmed, the road surface appears to have buckled and left a large crater of about four square metres, with photos of the scene shared on social media earlier in the evening showing a car being partially swallowed up by the hole.
The vehicle has since been removed.
Part of the street was seen to have been cordoned off by barriers and the emergency services remained at the scene late on Wednesday night.
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Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were in attendance at the incident, while police officers were also at the scene speaking to residents, and surveyors were also understood to be at the site assessing for any structural damage to surrounding properties.
It comes after Greater Manchester has experienced weather on all ends of the spectrum over the past 24 hours.
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The incident happened on an extraordinary and dramatic evening, which saw most areas of the wider region covered in a blanket of snow, following a day of torrential rain from Storm Christoph.
An amber weather warning issued by The Met Office – which has now been lifted – saw heavy rain and snow continue to fall across Greater Manchester throughout the night, which forced the residents of 2,000 homes in East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden to temporarily leave their properties as a means of protection.
Emergency services have been helping those affected across the region this morning, while Environment Agency teams have deployed temporary flood defences and close flood barriers.
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Severe flooding alerts – which mean ‘danger to life’ – remain in place in four local areas: Little Bollington, Heatley, East Didsbury, and West Didsbury and Northenden.
A further 18 flood warnings and 14 flood alerts are also still in place across the region.
The Environment Agency and the Met Office has warned that heavy rain and snow showers are expected to continue on Thursday 21st January and into the weekend.
Water levels on the River Mersey also remain high.
⚠️We have issued a severe #flood warning for #Heatley and #LittleBollington which means a threat to life and significant disruption. We are working with the emergency services to keep everyone safe. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger
Entire tram line suspended due to overhead line damage at Old Trafford
Daisy Jackson
Metrolink trams along the Altrincham line have been suspended due to damage to an overhead line near Old Trafford.
The damage, caused by a third party, has caused significant disruption for commuters across the Greater Manchester region this afternoon.
No Metrolink tram services are operating between Altrincham and Piccadilly, in either direction.
Large queues are already forming for buses at Piccadilly Gardens as people attempt to get home.
Engineers have arrived on site to try and fix the issue, but ‘significant disruption’ is expected to continue into the evening.
TfGM and Metrolink have also deployed staff to assist people with their journeys at all stops in the city centre as well as at Old Trafford, Trafford Bar, and Cornbrook.
Trams between Bury and Deansgate-Castlefield are unaffected.
Ticket acceptance is in place on the 245, 255, 256, 263, 281 and 285 bus services and on Northern Rail services between Altrincham and the city centre. Simply show the driver your Metrolink ticket or pass when boarding.
You can plan the rest of your journey online using the TfGM journey planner here.
Pubs can extend their opening hours if England make it to the Euro 2024 semi-finals
Emily Sergeant
Pubs are to be permitted to extend their opening hours if England make it through to the semi-finals of EURO 2024 this summer.
With the Premier League, and the English and Scottish football leagues, all drawing to a close over the next couple of weeks, our nations are already looking ahead to what is gearing up to be a massive summer of sport – with both the UEFA EURO 2024, and the 2024 Olympics coming up before August is out.
And now, it’s been revealed by Home Secretary James Cleverly that if either England or Scotland’s mens national football teams make it to the semi-final of European football’s flagship tournament, then pubs will be allowed to stay open for longer.
But, there’s a bit of a catch… because isn’t there always?
The Government has said that venues will be allowed to stay open for an extra two hours on match days if either or both teams reach the last four or the final of the competition, but this only applies to pubs that already have a license to open until 11pm anyway.
Pubs can extend their opening hours if England make it to the Euro 2024 semi-finals / Credit: Piqsels | Wikimedia Commons
The move to extend opening hours comes after a consultation at the end of last year, and is hoped to provide a boost to the hospitality industry – which has notably been hit hard during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The Home Secretaries in England and Wales, under Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003, can make an order relaxing licensing hours to mark occasions of “exceptional national significance”, but the Scottish and Northern Irish Governments have to set their own rules.
“We have listened to the public through our consultation,” explained Home Secretary James Cleverley, “and we will be extending pub licensing hours should England or Scotland reach the semi-finals or final of Euro 2024.”
The EURO 2024 semi-finals are to be held on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 July / Credit: UEFA
Mr Cleverley said the move will “allow friends, families and communities to come together for longer to watch their nation hopefully bring it home”.
This legislation is set to be laid in Parliament today (Wednesday 8 May) to ensure there is enough time for it to be debated and passed before the tournament begins on Friday 14 June, the Government has confirmed.