Walls crack and homes evacuated after ground moves in former UK mining town

Coalsnaughton, where residents have been evacuated from their homes (Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS) (Credits: Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS)

People were given just minutes to leave their homes in an evacuation of nearly 100 properties in Scotland, after unexplained ‘ground movement’ in a former mining village.

Authorities decided people must leave 28 properties in Nechtan Drive and nine homes in Langour, both streets near the historic coal mining site of Coalsnaughton.

Some 30 homes had already been cleared in the nearby Dunmoss View and another 30 in Benbuck View in recent weeks, after parts of the streets had shifted.

The movement had been dramatic enough that the walls of some houses had cracked.

Ground movement c...