An 87-year-old grandfather is locked in a standoff with council workers after refusing to leave his home near a massive sinkhole in Surrey.
Retired company director Brendon Davis has rejected evacuation orders from his house on Salisbury Road, which his own grandfather built 150 years ago.
He was then forced to face off against council workers on Thursday who were attempting to remove him from his property - which sits on a road directly adjacent to the hole.
The first sinkhole emerged on Monday evening in Godstone after a water pipe burst, creating a massive cavity measuring 19 by three metres across.
Brendon Davis has rejected evacuation orders from his house on Salisbury Road (top right)
PA
A second crater appeared the following day, swallowing the front garden of a block of flats and leaving a car dangerously close to the edge.
The emergency has so far forced the evacuation of 30 properties in the village.
"I know my property and we have more bricks underground than overground," Davis told The Independent.
"I'm not concerned - and if everything starts falling down I have a back way I can get out."
When asked if he had anywhere else to go, Davis responded sarcastically: "I guess I could get on a flight to the Canary Islands couldn't I?"
LATEST FROM SURREY AND THE SOUTH EAST:
The emergency has so far forced the evacuation of 30 properties in the village
PA
"Where am I supposed to go in all seriousness? I don't need to move. My house is not in any danger," he added.
A second defiant grandfather living near the 100m cordon also refused to leave, claiming he had anticipated the disaster for decades.
"We've known about this water pipe for 20 years," he told The Independent.
"There was this bump in the road, we called it 'the ski jump'. It formed when they built the new estate."
"I have been asked to move but I'm staying put. We are built on rocks and we've been here a long enough time."
Matt Furniss, Surrey County Council's cabinet member for highways, said on Thursday that properties around the sinkhole had been declared temporarily stable.
"All properties have been surveyed and we believe are currently structurally sound, but this may not remain the case," he said.
While Tandridge District Council noted there were "historical sandpits" in the area and structural experts were assessing needed repairs.
Furniss added that borehole investigations had begun, warning the situation "may take months" to resolve.
The village has been nicknamed "Godshole" by locals as the disaster continues to impact the community.
Businesses including a barber's and MOT garage near the sinkhole have been told Godstone High Street could remain closed for up to six months.
Some families with young children have been forced to relocate to temporary accommodation 15 miles away in Crawley, while others have resorted to living in their cars.
