A mechanic has spoken of his shock on discovering that what he thought was a puddle in a Sprowston road was actually a large hole.

Forty-five-year-old Steve Bayton, who lives in Tills Road near where the hole has opened up, said: 'I went for an MOT at about 11.15am yesterday and when I came back an hour later, at a distance I thought, 'there's a big puddle in the middle of the road,' and as I got closer to it I saw it was a gaping hole.

'I got out of the car and looked in it and saw there was just the road surface with nothing underneath it.

'I was shocked when I looked down the hole. It doesn't look like a big hole from the surface but when you look down it I reckon it's 8ft wide.'

The police were called, but before they arrived Mr Bayton stayed to warn people about the hole. He and another person parked their vehicles in the road to stop people driving over the hole.

'What I can't understand is where has it come from?' he said, adding that it looked like the material underneath the road surface had been washed away.

Yesterday afternoon the area above and around the hole was cordoned off with orange fencing.

Norfolk County Council spokesman John Birchall said: 'This is not a normal pot-hole, which breaks out from the top, and it appears to be subsidence under the road.

'This can be caused in a number of ways, including leaking water mains, drains, or sewers, or old workings. 'We therefore need to find out what has caused this before we carry out repairs.

'We are arranging for an investigation to be carried out on Monday. In the meantime the barriers will remain in place over the weekend. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

The Evening News is running a campaign, Spot the Pot, to find the streets which are most in need of repairs to pot-holes and road surfaces.

Is there a big pot-hole near where you live? Email reporter David Bale at www.david.bale2@archant.co.uk