In Photos: The dramatic sinkholes which have opened up in Yorkshire

Some of the sinkholes in Ripon and across Yorkshire

This is the third sinkhole to appear in Ripon in four years with the last two, which happened in 2016 and 2014, causing homes to be evacuated amid fears of the houses being destroyed.

In the past couple of years, sinkholes have been appearing in different locations in the Yorkshire area in not only Ripon, but in places such as Northallerton and Leeds.

Here's a run-down of a few of the famous sinkholes from across Yorkshire:

A mega sinkhole in Ripon which erupted below people's homes

-> Giant sinkhole opens up in Yorkshire Sainsbury's car park

Ripon city centre - 21st August 2018

At 10am on Tuesday morning customers and staff of Sainsburys in the centre of Ripon were asked to leave after a sinkhole opened up behind the building. Police and engineers were called to the scene in order to investigate the hole.The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted: "Police and Fire and local authority Emergency Planning all currently investigating a report of a possible sinkhole opening in Ripon. "No persons involved. Police trained drone operator en route to gain aerial footage. Until then, emergency services will continue to look into it."

Northallerton - 28th July 2018

A mega sinkhole in Ripon which erupted below people's homes. Photo: Glen Minikin

It was reported last month that Donna Watson from Northallerton had a sinkhole in her back garden. She had first reported of the sinkhole two years ago when she moved into her home and while it had originally been filled up, nothing had been done despite her complaints. Yorkshire Water finally started work on her garden last month and discovered that the sinkhole was actually the length of a door, meaning that her children could have easily been at risk.

Headingley - 7th June 2018

A large sinkhole appeared on Otley Road in Headingley after a main water pipe burst. The repairs took place over two days and caused huge traffic jams both ways with buses having to follow diversion routes. At the time a Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a burst on Otley Road in Headingley early this morning with a team immediately dispatched to the scene. For health and safety reasons we have had to close parts of Headingley Lane with traffic diverted from Victoria Road round to Cardigan Lane, re-joining at the Wood Lane junction.”

Boston Spa - 16th May 2018

This wasn't a sinkhole - it was a bridge collapse in Yorkshire earlier this year, although some thought it was a sinkhole when it first happened

A school in Boston Spa had to close after a sinkhole on Clifford Moor Road appeared. The sinkhole was caused by damage to water pipes and caused the road to be closed. Boston Spa Parish Council said on their Twitter account: "Police have closed the road outside Boston Spa School due to a sink hole, Clifford Moor Road closed from Primrose Lane to school gates, we’ll keep you posted."

Ripon - 12th November 2016

-> Families evacuated in Ripon after gardens disappear into 66ft sinkhole

12 homes had to be evacuated after a large sinkhole appeared which measured about 10-20 metres long and 30 feet deep.

There were no injuries reported in the collapse that caused two properties back gardens to be destroyed in some very dramatic photos.

Ripon - 17th February 2014

Residents in three houses had to be evacuated after a 7.5 metre wide sinkhole appeared which damaged one of the houses which had to be demolished a month later.

Following this incident the British Geological Survey collected data to find that Ripon is “one of the most susceptible areas” of the UK for sinkholes due to “Permian gypsum deposits.”

They also reported that the area of Ripon “periodically encounters sinkholes” with sinkholes typically appearing every two to three years during the 1980s and 1990s.

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