But for Richard Lawrence, a slight misstep as he approached his front door turned out to have rather dramatic consequences.

The 40-year-old, who felt his foot sink into the pavement outside his home, inadvertently opened up a massive sinkhole which has now grown to at least 4ft deep and closed down a Norwich street.

The sinkhole opened up outside the old schoolhouse, built by the Colman's Mustard dynasty in 1864 (Image: Jack Warren)

He was returning from an evening at a pub in the city centre to his home on Carrow Hill in the early hours of Sunday when the incident happened.

Mr Lawrence, who works at the nearby Carrow Road stadium, said: “The ground came out from under my feet.

“I think there was a hole under the earth and when I stepped on it my foot went through.

Richard Lawrence whose foot went through the pavement (Image: Jack Warren)

“I don’t know how I didn’t fall through. Luckily, I had a few drinks which I think stopped me from freaking out because I hate heights.”

He stopped to take a photo showing the hole - then barely longer than a foot in length - but did not think much more of it and went to bed.

By the morning, however, it had grown significantly.

Mr Lawrence's foot by the hole (Image: Submitted)

Chris Hogben, 45, a neighbour spotted the hole dangerously close to the back wheels of his van.

“I jumped in the van and moved it. It was parked where the hole begins. The hole was nearly under the back of my wheels.

“I’m worried about it because we don’t know how far it comes back.

"My van was nearly the new Earlham Road bus," he added, in reference to the famous 1988 incident which saw a double decker sink into a hole on Earlham Road, sending its front wheels far into the air.

Chris Hogben's van nearly went through the pavement (Image: Jack Warren)

The Carrow Hill hole has opened up outside the former schoolhouse, built in 1864 for the children of workers at the Colman's mustard factory at the bottom of the hill.

It is now part occupied by offices and part by homes, including Mr Lawrence's and Mr Hogben's.

The hole continued to grow over the weekend and was reported to Norfolk County Council.

It closed the street and workmen have been investigating.

A council spokesman said: "We’ve closed Carrow Hill after identifying subsidence in the road surface.

"The closure will stay in place while our teams investigate and carry out the necessary repairs."

The 4ft hole has now taken out an entire 6ft length of pavement and has prompted alarm among neighbours.

Mark Read 36, a salesman, who has lived in the old school about a year said: “I hope my house doesn’t fall in. I am worried now I know it’s a sinkhole.

Mark Read who lives in the old school (Image: Jack Warren)

“If you’re not directly involved you can laugh at it, but if you are it’s concerning.

The one-way road is one of the steepest in Norwich, connecting Bracondale and King Street.

It is close to the old city walls and the area is thought to have been the site of excavations.

Robert Anderson, 56, who has owned the house opposite the school for 11 years said: “There’s no telling how far under the road the hole goes.

Robert Anderson who lives opposite the school (Image: Jack Warren)

“There have been issues here over the last few years there was a burst water main here that created a vacuum under the road.

“Someone warned me never to buy a house here because there are tunnels everywhere.

“If there was a bin lorry coming down it would have gone straight through.”

Norwich's history is pockmarked by episodes of sinking roads and properties.

The most memorable was the Earlham Road bus incident, when the Number 26 service sank into a collapsing medieval chalk mine below the surface.

But Carrow Hill is also close to Argyle Street, where locals had to be rehomed from in 2009 because of huge subsidence problems.

Argyle Street, Norwich (Image: Archant Norfolk 2015)

The homes were eventually knocked down in 2015.

The memorable day a bus fell down a hole in Earlham Road in Norwich - 3rd March 1988 (Image: Archant)

© Norwich Evening News