A gaping hole in the middle of a quiet Shropshire street that has been left unmarked for weeks is an accident waiting to happen, it was claimed today.

The claim came from the wife of a motorist whose car sunk into the hole in the road surface, which measures one metre across and almost half a metre deep, while reversing to turn in Sinclair Gardens, Ketley.

The hole has been left for several weeks and residents of Sinclair Gardens claim it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident.

Telford & Wrekin Council today said the situation would be resolved “shortly”.

Council spokeswoman Vicki Cotterell said the hole was exposed after a gully cover is thought to have been stolen.

Judy Hancock says she was visiting a relative in the street when her husband drove his car into the hole. She said the vehicle’s wheel completely sunk into the crevice in the road surface, banging the car’s body work against the road surface, despite the slow speed he was driving.

“It was frightening. The car plunged into the hole. It was only crawling along but the impact made a terrible bang,” she said.

“My husband had to reverse the car out of the hole and it’s a miracle that it didn’t cause a great deal of damage to the vehicle because it was really deep. The car needs to be checked out to discover the extent of the damage.”

She said the hole was originally protected by traffic cones but these had disappeared. Mrs Hancock added: “It is terribly dangerous.”

She said: “A pedestrian, especially a pensioner or someone with sight difficulties, could quite easily fall down into the hole. The effect of the fall could quite easily kill someone.”

She claimed Telford & Wrekin Council had known about the problem for at least two weeks.

Vicki Cotterell added: “A permanent repair has been ordered today, and work will begin shortly.”

By Brett Gibbons