Homes get sinking feeling

Campaigners say they warned of the dangers

Engineers have been called in to examine holes that have appeared in the foundations of homes built on a flood plain in north Devon.

Four of the nine houses, built 18 months ago in Station Close at Braunton, are affected.

One of the holes is big enough for a child to fall through.

Site owners, Sanctuary Housing Association, say it is only normal settlement of the foundations and that there is no danger.

Residents fear the holes could get larger

But residents of site, formerly Bats Meadow, are seriously concerned.

Resident Dave Rickson said: "I am reasonably sure that the house is not going to suddenly sink, but I am concerned that the land is possibly unstable.

"Hopefully it is a small problem, but it could be the tip of a very large iceberg."

Hundreds of people marched in protest at the development two years ago, and some still say that the homes should never have been built on such a wet site.

Peter Ruddock, of the Braunton Action Group, said: "I am not in the least surprised that this has happened.

"We knew this was going to happen. You cannot build on swamps."