Brothers' amazing escape after truck plunges into 7ft hole

TWO BROTHERS had an amazing escape when their two-tonne truck plunged into a 7ft hole that opened up in the middle of a Shropshire road.

Up to 2,000 homes have been left without water and two primary schools were also forced to close today after two water pipes burst in Albrighton.

Carl and Chris Nedic leapt from their new £24,000 pickup truck just seconds before the road surface dramatically collapsed, pitching the vehicle nose-first into the ground on the A464 at Boningale near Albrighton last night.

Chris, aged 23, who works with his 25-year-old brother in the family mobile homes business, said afterwards: "I thought I was a goner. We are both lucky to be alive."

He escaped with cuts and bruises following the accident just before 7pm last night but his brother was taken to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford for treatment to back and leg injuries and was recovering at the family's home in Kingswood, near Albrighton, today

His father, also called Chris and aged 54, rushed from the family home after being alerted to the accident and was hurt when he fell into the hole trying to release the stranded truck.

A pipe burst on the A464, at the junction of Holyhead Road and Patshull Lane, at about 2pm yesterday and left a huge hole in Patshull Road, near RAF Cosford.

Eyewitness Catherine Tummons, owner of Boningale Manor on Holyhead Road, said she went shopping at about 2.15pm and was met by gushing floodwater.

She said: "I must have been one of the first people to see it.

"It was like a river and it was the whole width of the road and it was just flooding down. It was very dirty, horrible sandy water.

"Some of our friends could not get out of their houses last night because the whole of Boningale has been flooded and left in silt.

Ambulance crews were sent to the accident scene, near the Lea Manor Hotel, but were forced to retreat after paramedics feared a second hole was opening up.

Andrew Marsh, spokesman for Severn Trent, said overnight a second pipe had burst, leaving thousands of Albrighton homes with no water and two schools closed.

Mr Marsh said: "This caused considerable traffic disruption and we apologise to customers.

"We have had about 200 calls from households in the area and that is going to be a fraction of the amount affected. We think between 1,000 and 2,000 homes could be affected."

Murray MacGregor, spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: "The 4x4 pick-up truck had been driving along the road when it came across the water filled hole and had no warning before driving straight into it.

"It was left at such an angle that the rear wheels were off the ground. Amazingly, the electrics continued to work leaving the lights on underwater leaving an odd glow.

"Thankfully, the men in the vehicle were able to get out of it without assistance."