A giant foaming 'sinkhole' spewing out "alien" foam has appeared on a rugby pitch where HS2 is being built.
Work on the project was stopped for several hours after dog walkers found the brown foam bubbling out the ground at Ruislip RFC in west London.
According to HS2, workers moved to seal off the area which was “most likely caused” by one of the tunnelling machines passing through a small pre-existing borehole.
Jatin Radia, 45, chairman of Ruislip RFC, described the bubbling pool as “alien” and added: “I was watching his 14-year-old son play NFL on Saturday morning when my phone started blowing up.”
“Members of the rugby club were sending me photos and videos asking me what was going on.
“It looked alien and unnatural. It reminded me of a volcano spewing up lava. I couldn’t believe it was anywhere in the UK.”
Jatin quickly got in touch with the police, the environment agency, Hillingdon Council and HS2 to find out what was happening.
As part of the construction process for the controversial rail line, HS2 engineers are boring a tunnel under Ruislip Station which is adjacent to the rugby club.
Jatin arrived at the ground around 1pm and was met by two HS2 investigators.
On top of his concerns for the local community, Jatin was also worried for the rugby club, which has 600 members.
Although the area remains cordoned off, Jatin said the foam has now dissipated.
HS2 have also written to Jatin to let him know the pitches are perfectly safe to play on, he said.
An HS2 spokesperson said: “Upon discovering the small pool of foam in Ruislip on Saturday, HS2’s main works’ contractor SCS (Skanska Costain STRABAG) sealed off the area to investigate.
“The pool appears to have come out of a pre-existing borehole, causing foam to travel up and pool on the surface.
"The area is safe, the leak has been sealed, and the foam has been cleared. There has been no impact on the programme schedule.”
