Littleover Community School

BBC News School Report @ LCS

Strange Sounds Underground Send Suspicions Around Town

By: Evie

After a series of knocking and banging sounds were heard from underneath Tenant Street on Wednesday 8th of March, Derbyshire’s Fire Service were contacted along with the Rescue Services from Nottingham Road station and its Major Rescue Unit at 5:30pm that night. The Fire Service Manager, Ben Smart (based at Ripley Fire Station), said that a member of the public had contacted the police after hearing knocking coming from one of several manholes along that street. The police then called the Fire Services who came with the crew from Nottingham Road and the city’s Major Rescue Unit because they had a lot of technical equipment that they could use to help the person-if there even was someone trapped in the manholes. Mr Smart said “We lifted the manhole but there was no way anyone could be down there. It is the sewer.” A teenage skateboarder who was at the scene said that a few days ago someone he knew said that they too had heard the knocking in the manholes in the same area.

That’s definitely possible if someone was working in Sadler Gate and got washed away due the sewer towards the Quad. If it was me I would be banging like hell.”

Mr Palmer

Now that a few days have passed we have been updated about the issue. A tunnel expert fears that the strange sounds coming from Derby’s manholes could be a sign that there could be someone trapped down there underground. Derek Palmer spoke to the fire crews after they were called out and no one was found. On the 9th it was revealed that that the Fire Crews were looking for children who might be stuck in the drains. The Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted about how the crew fears that there are indeed children suck in sewage pipes. Retired drainage demolition boss, Mr Palmer, had worked for the city council for 50 years and said that he knew two workers who were carried almost a mile to Markeaton through drain pipes. So he says that it is possible that if someone somehow managed to get into a manhole then they could have been carried by the sewage currents and maybe even across the market place all the way to Tennent Street.

“the only thing I could say is that someone was working on a pipe and if someone banged on it then you would hear it.”

Mr Palmer

It has happened before because two men got washed up from Markeaton Lane down to Darley Park. There was a thunderstorm, water was smashing down and they couldn't get up. They got washed down into the culvert straight through the river to Darley Park. The sewer buff, who lives in Chaddesden has said that the only other theory surrounding the knocking sounds was that someone could be doing some work that was nearby and it could sound as if it was coming from under Tennant Street,

to ride on a canoe through the city’s sewers before new housing made the underground system too treacherous. He explained how the journey used to take him and a colleague from a manhole all the way down to Raynesway. “I could do that before the health and safety came in!” he explained. “There was only about 2ft of water 50 years ago and, because housing estates have been built, it seems to be lot more full than it was– so we could not send our men down there.” The city’s new sewage system is filled to the brim with water and is never really accessible to the general public however, there are many walkable tunnel which runs in and around Derby under the market place. There have been no further updates on the situation.