Boy saved as hole appears in the ground.

Byline: By Craig Hope

A four-year-old boy was trapped when the ground opened up beneath him.

Matthew Roberts, from Westgarth, Westerhope, Newcastle, was playing with pals over the weekend when he noticed a dip in the ground.

After jumping on the springy turf, the area gave way and he was trapped up to waist height.

Luckily for him, Matthew's 13-year-old brother, James, was on hand to pull the terrified youngster to safety.

Dad David Roberts, 36, said: "It's lucky James was there to pull Matthew out.

"If he had been playing by himself it doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened.

"I got a clothes prop and put it down the hole and it didn't touch the bottom ( it was scary. I and another father had to stand guard to keep children away until the police arrived."

This is the second lucky escape children have had in the area.

Last month a faulty electricity cable sparked an explosion which blew pavement slabs out of the ground.

Worried parents are now calling for authorities to carry out a complete survey of the whole area to check for further cases of subsidence.

Mr Roberts said: "If you look about there are dips everywhere. I want a survey carried out now to make sure this won't happen again."

Police were quick to cordon off the area around the three-metre hole and a parks and gardens team from Newcastle City Council has cut down a nearby tree after its roots were visible in the ground.

Mr Roberts, a father of three, said: "I feel very lucky. Our kids always play in that area. First the electric explosion and now this ( we might not be as fortunate in the future.

"The pavements are very uneven and there have been cases of people's gardens giving way.

"Subsidence has been a problem on this estate for a long time and nothing has been done about it. Now is the time to do something.

"I'm very worried and have told the kids not to play there until we know it's safe."

A spokesman for Newcastle City Council said: "We were called to the area by police after concerns were raised that one of the trees on that patch might fall into the hole".