A massive sinkhole has opened up in a busy south London street with a burst pipe leading to major flooding and road closure chaos.
Fire and water crews were deployed to Kings Avenue, near Clapham Common, in the early hours of Sunday morning after the deluge was reported to them.
While the water flow is now under control after Thames Water stationed ‘specialists’ in the area, it may take up to ‘two weeks’ to fix the roads which appear to have crumbled as a result of the flooding.
Labour’s Brixton Acre Lane team posted on X today to say Kings Avenue was ‘now fully closed to cars, cyclists and pedestrians’ and that the nearby Clarence Avenue would be ‘added shortly’ as a new diversion route.
They predicted that, should a hole on Bedford Road be filled today, that junction will reopen tomorrow.
However, they added that the total time for the overall works could take two weeks, adding that Thames Water have been granted overnight permission to complete them.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Clapham and Brixton, said she would continue to ‘press’ Thames Water after saying locals should expect ‘further delays’, particularly to public transport.
Popular buses such as the 137 and N137 from Streatham to Marble Arch, the 355 from Mitcham to Brixton, the P5 from Elephant & Castle to Pamore Estate, and the 417 from Crystal Palace to Clapham have been affected as a result of the sinkhole.
Transport for London (TfL) said: ‘Routes 137, 417 and N137 are diverted in both directions via Clapham Common South Side, Cavendish Road and Poynders Road.
‘Buses will not be able to serve Kings Avenue, and Clapham Park Road.
‘Route 355 is on diversion in both directions via Streatham Place and Brixton Hill, missing bus stops on Kings Avenue and Acre Lane.
‘Route P5 is on diversion in both directions via Brixton Road and Stockwell Road missing bus stops on Acre Lane, Bedford Road and Clapham Road.’
In their latest update today, a Thames Water spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience caused by the hole.
They said: ‘We’re currently dealing with a burst pipe which caused a large amount of flooding to the area, as shown in the picture below.
‘To keep the public and our team safe, we’ve set up traffic lights while we work in the road. Sorry for the impact this may have on traffic in the area, and any delays to your journey
‘Due to the size of the pipe and it’s location this is going to be a difficult repair. We’ve now controlled the flow of water from the burst pipe, and a specialist team have carried out investigations to confirm the road surface is safe for us to continue with the repair.
‘As soon as we confirm this we’ll then dig down to the damaged section of pipe and decide how best to fix it.’
Ms Ribeiro-Addy said yesterday that water supplies in the area should be ‘restored’ to locals.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 0103 on Monday (13 July) to reports of a burst water main on Kings Avenue, SW4. Firefighters attended and discovered a sinkhole in the roadway and surface water flooding in excess of 200mm.
‘Firefighters deployed sandbags to help protect multiple affected properties. The scene was left in the care of the water authority and Metropolitan Police.’
has also approached Lambeth Council for further information.