A WORRIED mother says her children were put in danger for months after her fears about sinkholes in their garden were ignored.

Donna Watson told housing association Broadacres there were problems in the back garden of their home at Hilton close in Brompton, Northallerton, after she moved in two years ago, with her three toddlers Tilly, now four and two year old twins Poppy and Cleo.

But it is only now that work is being done. Yorkshire water are carrying out extensive excavations in the garden.

Mrs Watson said: “When we first moved in there was a sinkhole, they filled it in but the ground was still dipping. To keep me quiet they sent someone out but they didn’t go down far enough and found nothing.

“I still kept saying there was something wrong. Now Yorkshire Water have dug up the whole garden and one of the workmen told me there was a sinkhole the length of a door down there. One of the children could easily have gone down.

“I feel they just didn’t take my concerns seriously and endangered the lives of the children. We spend a lot of time in the garden and it could have gone at any time. They haven’t looked after their tenants and I feel we should be compensated .”

Now Yorkshire Water have offered to help the family over the summer. A spokesperson said: “We would like to apologise for the work we are having to carry out in the garden of Hilton Close, which is being done so we can access and repair a defect on the local sewer that runs underneath it.

“As Mrs Watson can’t enjoy her garden currently due to the work, we have provided £630 to help entertain her three children at a kids club. We are also providing £200 in taxi money.

“During the next two weeks we will continue to work seven days a week to get repairs complete as soon as possible. Once this has all been done we will fully restore the garden and lay down a brand new lawn.”

A spokesperson for Broadacres said: “We would like to reassure Mrs Watson that we are taking this issue very seriously and we understand that this is a difficult time for her and her family. We will be contacting her to reinforce this. Unfortunately, as Yorkshire Water is responsible for the drain, the work which is being carried out is beyond our control. We would like to thank Mrs Watson for her patience and hopefully Yorkshire Water will be able to complete the work as soon as possible”