The cause of the sinkhole remains unclear, but experts at the British Geological Survey (BGS) say it could be caused by a burst water main.

Andrew Farrant, BGS regional geologist in south east England, says that weak sandstone lies beneath the village and this would normally be stable, but if there was a sudden influx of water it could “flush out weak sandstone bedrock”.

This would create a void and then the overlying ground would collapse into it.

Mr Farrant suspects the water could come from a burst water main in the local area.

Locals have raised concerns about a local sand quarry and historic mining activities, which had created caves near the village.

The old sand mine has now been filled in so BGS think it’s unlikely to be the reason, but they say they cannot rule out that there are other sand mines not mapped or that the roof of a historic cave has collapsed somewhere else which cause the initial failure of the water pipe.

Additional reporting by Science reporter Esme Stallard.