South Yorkshire Times, April 7 1956
Tunnels Near Conisbrough House
Caved In By Lorry
Because a coal lorry caused the ground to cave in near their home revealing tunnels, Mr and Mrs James Birkin, of 75, Lime Grove, Conisbrough, are wondering if the house will be affected.
On Thursday evening three tons of coal were delivered to the home by the Denaby and Cadeby home coal catering service. The driver of the lorry, Thomas Wakefield, of Ferry Villas, Low Road, Conisbrough, backed it near the house and suddenly the ground gave way and a large hole about 8 feet square and 6 feet deep appeared. The back of the lorry went into the hole and it had to be lifted out by a crane.
“I was only 2 Feet from the cavity,” said Mrs Birkin, “and I had only walked over it a few minutes earlier. It gave me a shock and since then I have been scared of the ground under the house collapsing.”
The houses are built on rock, “and they have always seemed very safe,” said Mr Birkin. A cellar fom nearby Lime Grove Cafe ends only a few yards from the house and Mrs Birkin said she thought it might be an old continuation of that.
“The tunnels were about 2 ft.² and there maybe more about them,” said Mrs Birkin. Inside the hole was an old fireplace and a kitchen fenderr. To fill the hole four tons of earth were needed.