A BARROW street has been closed after a sink hole opened in the middle of the road.

The hole, which is around 15cm wide, appeared in Cheltenham Street, just before the junction with Settle Street, on the evening of May 6.

It is the second sinkhole to appear in the area in just under a three week period, raising concern over whether the holes could form part of a larger issue with the town's infrastructure.

Brendan Sweeney, Barrow Borough Councillor for Parkside said he was "concerned" about the age the town's streets.

"There have been problems fairly regularly with sewers and things needing replacing and we need to be productive in identifying these issues before road closures happen.

"We've had them in Warwick Street, Lancaster Street and Warwick was closed for a ludicrous amount of time- that's my main concern, is how quickly this will all be dealt with," he said.

Linda Miln runs Daddy's bakery in Cheltenham Street, alongside her husband and although the sinkhole did not worry her, she questioned whether the issue was down to Barrow's coastal location.

She said: "It was on Sunday night when we came back home and everyone was here, there were police and firefighters checking it out and then they cordoned it off.

"I think it will be gone in a few days. The good thing is, nothing has gone into it and nothing has come out of it.

"I think it's maybe because we are on the sea so it could be to do with what we're built on, we're quite sandy underneath the town."

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “Cheltenham Street has been closed as a precaution for public safety reasons following the discovery of an opening on the highway.

"The council is investigating this matter so we can decide the most appropriate course of action for repairing it and reopening the road.”

A survey of the land will take place in due course to see what is underneath the road and a team of specialists will deal with how best to tackle repair work.

On April 21, a similar sized sinkhole appeared at the junction of Duke Street and Parade Street forcing Cumbria police to close the road from the Abbey Road roundabout to the junction of St Vincent Street for a number of days, ahead of maintenance work being completed.

Traffic is still being redirected away from Cheltenham Street, until teams from Cumbria County Council can assess the sinkhole and carry out repair work.