Rawtenstall house hides gateway to labyrinth of caverns

This looks like any other terraced house in leafy Lancashire.

Open the front door, but watch your step as you could find yourself taking a plunge into the abyss.

A hole in the front room leads straight to a maze of underground caverns and waterways.

The fascinating discovery was made by an underground explorer who was stunned to find a collapsed culvert opening up into the front room of a house.

This looks like any other terraced house in leafy Lancashire. Open the front door, but watch your step as you could find yourself taking a plunge into the abyss

The fascinating discovery was made by an underground explorer who was stunned to find a collapsed culvert opening up into the front room of a house

The fascinating discovery was made by an underground explorer who was stunned to find a collapsed culvert opening up into the front room of a house

The explorer, who is known only as 'Substormflow' to preserve his anonymity, was exploring the waterways beneath Rossendale's streets when he stumbled across the remarkable find which he described as 'unique'

The explorer, who is known only as ‘Substormflow’ to preserve his anonymity, was exploring the waterways beneath Rossendale’s streets when he stumbled across the remarkable find which he described as ‘unique’

The explorer, who is known only as ‘Substormflow’ to preserve his anonymity, was exploring the waterways beneath Rossendale’s streets when he stumbled across the remarkable find which he described as ‘unique’.

Wading along the dark tunnel’s subterranean streams, he was astonished to find himself looking up into the ground floor room of a terraced house.

The outside the house, on Burnley Road in Rawtenstall, is boarded up and derelict but Substormflow discovered that a section of the culvert underneath it had collapsed and a large hole had appeared in the interior floor.

Rossendale Council and the Environment Agency (EA) said they have been working together on the issue, but they say the culvert is the responsibility of the landowner.

Wading along the dark tunnel's subterranean streams, he was astonished to find himself looking up into the ground floor room of a terraced house

Wading along the dark tunnel’s subterranean streams, he was astonished to find himself looking up into the ground floor room of a terraced house

The outside the house, on Burnley Road in Rawtenstall, is boarded up and derelict but Substormflow discovered that a section of the culvert underneath it had collapsed and a large hole had appeared in the interior floor

The outside the house, on Burnley Road in Rawtenstall, is boarded up and derelict but Substormflow discovered that a section of the culvert underneath it had collapsed and a large hole had appeared in the interior floor

Rossendale Council and the Environment Agency (EA) said they have been working together on the issue, but they say the culvert is the responsibility of the landowner

Rossendale Council and the Environment Agency (EA) said they have been working together on the issue, but they say the culvert is the responsibility of the landowner

The EA confirmed they have developed a contingency plan to mitigate the flooding risk if the culvert collapses further.

Substormflow said he has explored hundreds of drains and sewers, but says he has never encountered anything like this.

He said: ‘It’s not every day you get to see up into somebody’s front room from a culvert.

‘Occasionally you find older culverts that have a deformed profile or a few blocks missing.

‘This is the first major collapse I’ve come across and it’s certainly unique with the building being straight above.

The EA confirmed they have developed a contingency plan to mitigate the flooding risk if the culvert collapses further

The EA confirmed they have developed a contingency plan to mitigate the flooding risk if the culvert collapses further

Substormflow said he has explored hundreds of drains and sewers, but says he has never encountered anything like this

Substormflow said he has explored hundreds of drains and sewers, but says he has never encountered anything like this

The explorer said: 'It's not every day you get to see up into somebody's front room from a culvert'

The explorer said: ‘It’s not every day you get to see up into somebody’s front room from a culvert’

He added: 'Occasionally you find older culverts that have a deformed profile or a few blocks missing'

He added: ‘Occasionally you find older culverts that have a deformed profile or a few blocks missing’

He said: 'This is the first major collapse I've come across and it's certainly unique with the building being straight above'

He said: ‘This is the first major collapse I’ve come across and it’s certainly unique with the building being straight above’

‘The rest of the culvert appeared to be in reasonable condition though. The rest of the culverts along the river were fairly typical though there was a stone weir further upstream which made a good spot for a photo.’

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: ‘The Environment Agency has been working with Rossendale Borough Council on this issue. The culvert is the responsibility of the landowner.

‘The Environment Agency will look to implement works to manage the risk of flooding at the site once it is safe to do so.

‘We have also developed a contingency plan to mitigate the risk of flooding should the culvert collapse.’

A United Utilities spokesperson said they have no responsibility for culverts, adding: ‘We have previously attended to check our sewer within this location which is in good condition and free from any issues.’ 

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: 'The Environment Agency has been working with Rossendale Borough Council on this issue. The culvert is the responsibility of the landowner'

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: ‘The Environment Agency has been working with Rossendale Borough Council on this issue. The culvert is the responsibility of the landowner’

The spokesperson added: 'The Environment Agency will look to implement works to manage the risk of flooding at the site once it is safe to do so'

The spokesperson added: ‘The Environment Agency will look to implement works to manage the risk of flooding at the site once it is safe to do so’

They went on: 'We have also developed a contingency plan to mitigate the risk of flooding should the culvert collapse'

They went on: ‘We have also developed a contingency plan to mitigate the risk of flooding should the culvert collapse’

A United Utilities spokesperson said they have no responsibility for culverts, adding: 'We have previously attended to check our sewer within this location which is in good condition and free from any issues.'

A United Utilities spokesperson said they have no responsibility for culverts, adding: ‘We have previously attended to check our sewer within this location which is in good condition and free from any issues.’

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