‘It’s a nightmare’: Massive sinkhole threatens to swallow couple’s home after builders erect an apartment block next door – and it’s going to cost $150,000 to fix
- Elderly couple Bill and Amelia at risk of losing their Sydney home to a sinkhole
- The hole opened as construction began on an apartment block next door
- Their son Tony says he is worried about his parents, who are struggling to cope
- He claims to have a quote of $150,000 to fix the hole and their crumbling home
- Tony says someone else needs to cover the cost of repairing the damage
The elderly residents of a Sydney home have been left traumatised and tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket after a sinkhole emerged on their driveway.
Bill and Amelia have lived peacefully in their Petersham home for 50 years, but they claim recent construction work on an apartment block next door has caused a two-metre hole to open up on their driveway, and it’s threatening their entire home.
Their son Tony told A Current Affair they were quoted $150,000 to repair the driveway and cracks that had emerged inside the house.
He alleges the original builders of the apartments are at fault and wants them to pay the bill, but the company have gone bankrupt – meaning the family could be forced to pay for repairs themselves.
An elderly couple have been left traumatised after a two-metre sinkhole (pictured) opened on their driveway after construction began on an apartment block next door
Bill and Amelia have lived in their Petersham home (pictured) for 50 years, but could lose it if the hole continues to grow
The company had excavated the site and poured concrete slabs up to the first level before they folded.
‘The builders have come and gone and left us with our own sinkhole that could swallow our house,’ Tony said.
The owner of the new building company, who finished the project but was not at fault for the sinkhole, said he had inherited a ‘lemon’ of a project.
Since the hole emerged, Bill has struggled to work, as he cannot move his ute with his tools in it and he is unable to take Amelia out in his vintage car, which is now stuck in the garage.
The family would tow the cars, but they fear any additional weight on the driveway could see it collapse further.
The hole means Bill is too scared to move his work truck or his vintage car, leaving him and his wife stranded and struggling
When asked to describe his feelings on the hole, Bill choked back tears before saying: ‘I cannot talk.’
Tony said his father has suffered health problems since their home began to crumble.
‘He’s got a pacemaker and he’s just a walking disaster,’ he said.
‘He walks like a zombie, as if there’s no-one there, he just paces backwards and forwards. Mum is worried about him. I’m worried about both of them.’
The owner of the company that completed the apartment project next door says he inherited a ‘lemon’ but was not responsible for the hole in Bill and Amelia’s driveway