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Sinkhole swallows part of Florida family’s front yard

Posted at 12:03 PM, Nov 13, 2012
and last updated 2012-11-13 12:06:05-05

WINDMERE, Florida (WTVR) - A sinkhole that has opened up in a Florida family's front yard has the neighborhood buzzing.

It opened up sometime early Monday morning, but the Padfield family didn't notice the big hole as they were hurrying out to school.

But when Paul Padfield returned a few hours later he knew something was up.

"It was 25 feet wide and maybe 6 feet deep at that time, and its been growing ever since," said Padfield. 

And since then the hole has more than doubled in size.

Padfield's son Alex could not believe what happened while he was at school.

Geologists, who examined the hole with ground-penetrating sonar, assured the family that their house is safe for now and do not think the depression will grown.

Padfield, a long time central Floridian, is not surprised by what happened.

"The state of florida is like a big piece of Swiss cheese, just a matter of waiting for the holes to collapse," said Padfield. 

Once it stabilizes, Padfield plans to fill it in, but his son has more ambitious ideas for their front yard: a fish pond.