Residents who suffered “a difficult year” after a giant sinkhole plunged their lives into turmoil celebrated the official reopening of their street.

The 12m wide and 10m deep crevice opened up in the early hours of October 1 last year, leaving 52 properties without gas, electricity and water.

Six families were also unable to return home for 14 months as their houses could not be deemed safe.

READ MORE: Sinkhole road set for grand reopening

However after extensive safety surveying and 48 lorry loads of concrete, residents of Fontmell Close and neighbouring Bridle Close welcomed the return to normality with a reopening ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

St Albans & Harpenden Review:

The sinkhole on Fontmell Close

One-year-old Finley Bagshaw, whose expectant parents Ben and Gemma were evacuated from their home immediately following the collapse, helped the Mayor of St Albans Frances Leonard cut the ribbon before returning to the family home for the first time.

Cllr Leonard, who joined the residents for the opening, said: "This is a joyful day for the residents of Fontmell Close and Bridle Close. I know that it’s been a very difficult time for everyone.

“Looking back, I have been particularly impressed by the way people have worked together to make the best of things and look after each other. I’m also pleased that the various agencies have been able to work together to ensure that the road reopens before Christmas."

A temporary access road was created with a shuttle service ferrying residents between the temporary car park at the old fire station site and the end of Bridle Close. 

Dealing with the immediate impact on residents, St Albans City and District Council arranged shelter and found temporary accommodation for a number of displaced residents.

Before a permanent repair could be carried out, investigations into the cause of the hole were needed. A full survey of the ground took place to establish the cause of the collapse and, more importantly, if there were further issues that needed to be addressed.

Expert investigators found that ancient chalk excavations in the bedrock beneath an historic clay pit on which the area was built was the most likely explanation for the sinkhole.

Once it was established that there was no further cause for concern, work began to reconnect the utilities to affected homes and then reinstate the road.

Cllr Terry Douris, responsible for highways, said: "I’m delighted that we’ve reached the stage where this nightmare is almost over for residents and they can resume their normal lives. We appreciate it has taken some time to get to this stage, but we owed it to residents to make sure the area is safe, which it is, and that the reinstatement job is done properly.

“We are very aware that this has been an extremely stressful time for the residents and it is good that they can start returning their lives to normal."