Sinkholes and a runaway cat - the year in Surrey

25 December 2025

Zac SherrattSouth East

News image — One of the sink holes that opened up in Godstone - a story that continues to anger residents

Eddie Mitchell Aerial image of a huge sinkhole in a road, with water and debris in the base — One of the sink holes that opened up in Godstone - a story that continues to anger residents

It has been quite a year for Surrey - with a host of stories hitting the headlines both locally and nationally.

From a huge sinkhole opening up in a residential street in Godstone to The Stig setting a new lap record around the Top Gear test track. And who can forget a woman from Lightwater becoming the oldest person in the world.

So let's take a look at the year gone by with a selection of the stories that hit the hardest, delighted readers the most and tackled the issues residents have been facing.

The biggest and longest-lasting story this year has been the Godstone sinkhole - or rather sinkholes - one of which was 20m (66ft) across - which opened up in February.

The High Street has been closed ever since and engineers have discovered a network of Victorian sand mining tunnels around the site.

It caused havoc for residents, and while most of them have now been able to return home, the nightmare has persisted for businesses, some of which have reported a 90% reduction in trade since the disaster.

Hopes the road could reopen in time for Christmas were dashed last month, with SES Water confirming that repairs would continue until at least March.

PA Media King Charles wearing a suit while sat in a green chair in a nursing home room. He is sat looking and smiling at an elderly woman, sat on his right, also in a green chair — Ethel Caterham chatting with King Charles III when the pair met earlier this year

In August, Surrey officially become home to the oldest person in the world.

Ethel Caterham was born on 21 August 1909 and in May, aged 115, she was named the world's oldest person following the death of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas.

Ms Caterham, who is also the last surviving subject of King Edward VII, celebrated her 116th birthday at her care home in Lightwater but said she "didn't know why there was all the fuss".

And the secret to living for so long?

"Never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like."

Image shows two females running. One is dressed in all black. She has a black short-sleeved top and black leggings on with a grey running vest over the top. She has black Nike trainers on. Her hair is in a bun. The second officer has turquoise trainers on. Burgundy shorts and a brown long-sleeved tight fitting top. She has a grey running vest over the top. Her hair is in a ponytail. Behind them are a number of trees, grass and a road. — Police officers volunteer to take part in runs as part of a crackdown on harassment

During the summer, a female police officer volunteered to run in plain clothes to catch catcallers, saying their behaviour "makes me feel really sort of icky".

PC Abby Hayward, who works for Surrey Police, said she was honked at twice during a 5km (3-mile) undercover run.

The force's Jog On campaign saw female police officers running in targeted locations, with uniformed officers on hand nearby to deal with those who catcall or shout sexually suggestive comments.

PC Hayward said: "When I'm on my own, I don't have the backup. It just ruins my whole run."

The BBC spent time with the force during the campaign in July, and within 20 minutes the runners had already experienced harassment.

PC Hayward said that, after getting honked and laughed at by a lorry driver within about 18 minutes and stopping to speak to him, the officers were then harassed again just 15 seconds after restarting their run.

Surrey Police made no arrests because of the initiative but officers had stopped and educated drivers about their behaviour.

PA Media A light blue McMurtry Speirling Pure VP1 track car. It is a single seater with a large spoiler at the back — The Top Gear record was broken in a McMurtry Speirling Pure VP1 track car

Top Gear may be off our television screens for now, but its anonymous racing driver The Stig is still hard at work, and in April broke a 20-year-old record for the fastest lap around the show's test track in Surrey.

The Stig completed the 1.75-mile (2.8km) figure-of-eight circuit at Dunsfold Aerodrome in 55.9 seconds in a McMurtry Speirling Pure VP1 electric track car, beating the previous record by 3.1 seconds.

The new lap time broke the 2004 record of 59 seconds in a Renault R24 Formula One car, also set by The Stig, a character who has been portrayed by a number of drivers.

Jack Rix, editor of Top Gear, said: "Being there to witness a 20-year-old lap record being shattered – one we thought was untouchable – was an incredible moment."

The lap record is part of BBC Studios' new Top Gear YouTube series, Stig Laps, where the anonymous racer attempts to break lap records on the track in some of the world's fastest and rarest cars.

Laura Shinkins A black cat with a pink collar sitting on a train ticket gate. — Trains, and cats, from Weybridge can take almost an hour and a half to get to London Waterloo

And finally, it would not be a true round-up of the county's stories without mentioning the adventurous cat who had to be collected from London Waterloo station by her owner after taking a train into the capital from Weybridge.

Michael Hardy says his two-year-old cat Tilly is known for straying, having caught buses before, and even climbing behind the bar of his local pub.

Even so, he was taken aback when he received a call from a ticket office worker about Tilly's 17.7-mile (28.5km) trip into the city.

Mr Hardy said: "What the hell is my cat doing in Waterloo getting on trains and going for a ride?"

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