Getty ImagesSome residents living with a huge sinkhole opening onto a residential street have been allowed to go home.
After 11 days, Merthyr Tydfil Council has started work to fill the hole and residents of seven houses on Nant Morales in Punt have been told they are finally safe to return home.
Among the first to return were Sheila and Meurig Price, who were relieved to have their daughter home after 10 days.
Merthyr Council said it hoped all homeowners would be home by the middle of next week, once the hole was filled and the rest of the homes had power restored.
On December 1, about 30 homes were evacuated and some residents moved to hotels.
“It will be nice to come back home and have the heating and television working again,” Mr Price said.
He added that he was relieved, saying it looked like all residents would be home for Christmas.
“We were worried but we had a meeting with the local authority last night and they assured us it will be safer than ever,” he said.
Merthyr Council said on Wednesday that a 6ft (1.8m) steel pipe has been inserted into the existing bridge to support the flow of water across it.
The hole was the largest on Wednesday morning — estimated to be about 40 feet (12 meters) deep and 33 feet (10 meters) wide — but engineers reiterated that the site was now safe.
Engineers now plan to temporarily fill the hole with stone before coming up with a more permanent plan in the new year.
Brent Carter, leader of Merthyr Tydfil Council, said: “The residents have been fantastic and really supportive. Everyone is looking forward to coming home for Christmas.”
“The site is as safe as it can be. The bridge is in great shape. Everything looks good.”
It emerged on Monday that a sinkhole had appeared. In front of former Love Island winner Liam Reardon’s family home.
Reardon, who won the 2021 season of the ITV reality show with partner Millie Court, said it was a “weird, unusual, crazy” experience, adding that it was “like we were in a movie”.
He said he had to “quickly pack his case and vacate the house” and was unable to return.
“Fortunately, none of us were injured… but it’s a big pain,” he said.
The family will now look forward to returning home after being “virtually homeless” in the run-up to Christmas.