A Dunedin man was left shocked and scared after he thought he was buried alive in his own backyard.
Andrew Thomson was feeding his goldfish when the ground beneath him collapsed at his Beaconsfield Rd property on the Otago Peninsula, Stuff reports.
"I just went straight through," he said.
"It was the worst experience of my life. I would wish it on no-one. It was horrific."
The two metre wide and three metre deep hole made him think he was buried alive.
He tried to make a makeshift staircase to get out but it failed.
After a couple hours in the hole someone up the road heard him yelling who informed Fulton Hogan who hauled him out.
Mr Thomson received numerous cuts, a cracked tooth, a gash to the head and a badly sprained ankle.
Newshub.
