A GAPING sinkhole is causing parking chaos for Bournemouth residents.

People living in Capstone Road are being forced to park three streets away due to the hole that opened up 10 days ago.

They are frustrated at the local authority and South West Water over a 'failure to fix it'.

BCP Council has put fencing around the hole, which residents say has created even more problems with spaces on the road in Charminster 'at a premium'.

Daniel Cadel said he had to park “three roads away” as the fencing around the hole had blocked six valuable spaces.

“The frustration is it needs to be dealt with because parking in the street is chronic.

“I could stop any member of the street now and parking is the main topic of conversation. Quite often, I have to park three roads away,” he said.

Bournemouth Echo: Neil Fountain with the sinkhole on Capstone Road.

The 47-year-old designer said the sinkhole was previously just a pothole that he and his neighbours had flagged with the council 'on numerous occasions over the past two years. 

“It was getting worse and worse,” he said.

“Cars were bottoming out and people had had accidents going into the hole. They [the council] said they would look at it at the next spending review.

“I suppose [they were] kicking the can down the road.”

Since the hole collapsed, Daniel said the water company and council have been arguing over who should fix it.

Bournemouth Echo: Sinkhole on Capstone Road.

Neighbour Neil Fountain agreed.

“They’re arguing over whose responsibility it is,” he said.

“They just need to get someone to sort it out, how hard can it be.”

Neil, 64, said the road was being damaged by cars hitting the hole before it collapsed.

“When it was just a hole, cars would dip into it and then you could hear their sump hitting on the road and scratching the road,” he said.

“When it first collapsed, the police came and put police tape around it, and they contacted the council. The council came and put all of this around it.

“But that was ten days ago.”

Bournemouth Echo: Neil Fountain and fencing around the sinkhole in Capstone Road.

Daniel and Neil said the hole is a collapsed storm drain which could need extensive repair work.

Neil said: “It’s a bigger issue than that hole really shows.

“If it’s the storm drain it’s not just that hole that needs filling in, the whole section needs digging out and if it is the storm drain then replacing it.

“A stitch in time but they don’t seem to worry about it.”

South West Water confirmed that the hole is “an issue on a lateral drain and is the responsibility of the council to fix.”

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “Our highways team is aware of this defect. We have identified a damaged drainage lateral that belongs to us, and the broken section of pipe connects to a Wessex Water sewer.

“Our Street Works Officers are in talks with Wessex Water. Further inspections of their asset are required and planned to commence next week. This is to ensure there are no underlying causes for the damage we have identified on our pipework.

“In the meantime, we have made the area safe and will be monitoring the site until investigations have concluded.