Hole opens at beauty spot

The hole appeared in The Bog outside Shrewsbury

A 600-feet deep hole has appeared in a beauty spot in Shropshire.

The hole opened up after capping over a disused mine shaft collapsed in The Bog outside Shrewsbury.

Engineers are warning that another chasm nearby might be about to open as the ageing capping deteriorates.

Neil Wilcox, from Shropshire County Council, said the mine could be one of two which lay undiscovered when other shafts were re-capped in the 1980s.

The mine, which employed 100 people, was a major source for lead and zinc between 1730 and 1924.

Peter Sheldrake, from the Shropshire Mines Trust, said the appearance of the chasm was inevitable.

"I would say that once every five years one of these shafts opens somewhere.

"When the last one opened it was on farmer's land and his horse disappeared."