SWNS
A seven-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after she fell 25ft into a sinkhole as she played near her home.
Daisy-Mae Jones fell the equivalent height of a two-storey house while playing in a field – but incredibly walked away with just cuts and bruises.
Daisy-Mae's mum Janine, 39, from Shuttlewood, Derbyshire, told her local paper: "Her friends came to tell us what had happened but the grass in that field is tall and thick, so it took a while to find her.
"We just had to keep calling her, and listening out. When we found her she was crying and covered head to toe in clay and mud. It was terrible."
Local builder Gary Barson was alerted to the rescue and took his ladders to the hole so Daisy-Mae could climb out.
He said: "She was hysterical. This hole was about 3ft by 4ft and at least 25ft deep. It is amazing she didn't get more seriously hurt."
Daisy-Mae was treated by the ambulance service on the scene, and fire and police were also in attendance.
A police spokesperson said they have spoken with the landowner, who has agreed to fill in the hole as it is a danger to public safety.
But according to The Coal Authority, the exact cause of the hole is still under investigation.
Janine said: "We were told it looks like a sinkhole. Either way, I just want to thank the Gary and the whole community for coming together.
"It could have been so much worse. If she was playing on her own, we might never have found her."
John Delaney, corporate manager for The Coal Authority, said fencing has now been erected around the field.
He added: "We don't yet know what it was yet, but we do know it is a hole and it is in a mining area so we have to carry out investigation work."