A 20ft deep sinkhole has suddenly appeared this morning under a quiet cul-de-sac.
The people living in 17 homes close to the site in Oatridge Gardens, Hemel Hempstead, have been evacuated as the hole, measuring approximately 35ft wide and 20ft deep, is investigated.
Residents living near the scene of the huge sinkhole have told Sky News they reported feeling the ground shaking overnight.
Structural engineers and utility companies are at the scene of the cul-de-sac to assess the situation.
"It was a bit of a shock having the police knock on the front door at that time on a Saturday morning," Max Green, who lives in a flat on the road, told the BBC.
"At the moment we are stuck," he said.
It is the third sinkhole to emerge in a week in Britain.
A 15ft-deep hole appeared in the central reservation of the M2 on Tuesday and a second - 17ft-deep, 10ft-wide - opened up in a Kent garden the following day.
A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said: "The hole, which is in a residential cul-de-sac, has mainly affected the road. However, 17 properties have been evacuated for the safety of residents in the area."