AN underground pool in Worcester is the likely cause of a landslide which has left a pensioner fearing his home could disappear.

A torrent of water is still flowing under John Cotterill's back garden in St John's, causing his fence and wall to collapse and leaving his shed teetering on the edge.

Severn Trent has confirmed water accumulating for a long period has finally released itself, undermined the embankment near to Laugherne Brook.

But its engineers do not yet know if the pool is natural or has been created by water leaking from the mains.

Seventy-nine-year-old John Cotterill, who reported the problem more than five weeks ago, has seen cracks appear in his garage and other residents now fear their Bracken Close properties might not be safe.

"We just don't know what is under our houses, several of my neighbours have expressed worries that our properties might be sitting on an underground reservoir," said Mr Cotterill.

"Another three to four feet of soil fell from the bank this week, my shed is creeping closer to the edge and it's all very worrying."

Engineers have been turning off the water mains every night this week to discover the source of the leak, but the water has continued to flow. They have also repaired a number of minor leaks in case these had contributed to the pool.

Mr Cotterill was in his shed when he first heard a loud rumbling noise on Saturday, December 20, and realised he was just inches from the landslide.

A spokeswoman for Severn Trent Water said insurance groups were currently looking at the problem.

"We believe an underground pool is the likely mechanism which caused the landslide," she said.

We don't know the size of the problem, but we want to ensure other concerned property owners that we are doing everything we can."