A LORRY driver had that sinking feeling when the road collapsed beneath his front wheels as he made deliveries in Worcester.

Melvyn Wood had parked in Barbourne's Raglan Street at around 3.15pm yesterday to check a map for his next delivery.

Two minutes later, the large kerbstones on the road sunk, leaving the lorry resting on its axle over a 4ft-deep hole.

"I'd just finished delivering some slabs and bricks to where the new houses are on this street," said the 60-year-old from Astwood Road, Worcester.

"I sat there looking at a map and the road collapsed. I was so surprised."

He phoned his employers - Travis Perkins, on Warndon's Shire Business Park - to explain the scare.

"They contacted Worcester police, then Worcester fire station, in case of a diesel spillage as the tank was touching the floor." he added. "But, luckily, the tank was not ruptured."

Sandbags on the back of the 16.5-tonne Leyland vehicle had to be removed, and a large lifting truck was used to lift its front end out of the hole.

"Our main suspect at the moment is a collapsed sewer," said David Denning, of Worcestershire Transportation Partnership.

"This road's directly on the line of one of the main sewers. I've dealt with many sewer collapses over the years, but having a vehicle drop into it is unusual."

Mr Denning added that Severn Trent Water had been called to make an assessment to see if the sewer had collapsed.

"My driver was quite shook up," said Travis Perkins transport manager Kevin Beck.

"We'd like to thank the emergency services and apologise to the customers who didn't receive their deliveries."