TONNES of rocks and soil crashed down into a quiet cul-de-sac narrowly stopping short of homes.

Terrified residents rushed out of their houses as the railway bank landslide erupted in Cornholme.

And the line between Hebden Bridge and Blackburn was closed for four hours until engineers gave it the all-clear.

Shocked householders described the collapse as ‘an accident waiting to happen’.

A councillor has hit out at rail bosses over the incident and said the damage in Victoria Street, could have been prevented.

Coun Anne James said: “The wall has been monitored for the past 18 months with Network Rail making sure that it is safe, checking the stability of it.

“Fortunately nobody was hurt.“

Bridie Farry, 79, described the landslide as ‘terrifying’.

Mrs Farry, who has lived in the street for 50 years, said: “I was planting flowers at the end of the street to make it look better less than 24 hours before it happened. It’s terrifying to think that it could have fallen when I was there.”

Bernadette Shepherd, 45, whose back garden was just yards from the landslide, said rubble fell into her garden waking up her family.

She said: “It was really scary and living so close to the bridge isn’t great. I have noticed people looking at the site in the past and I thought it was safe.

“Now I look out of my kitchen window and see the landfill.”

Mary Ellan Wingrove, 61, who lives with her husband Alan, in neighbouring Carfield Street, said not enough precautions had been taken and feared poor weather conditions could cause another rupture.

She said: “I know that there had been some reports of movement because I had seen a crack there in the past. You just presume everything is ok because the railway managers had taken time to look at it. It is quite scary knowing that the whole bridge could fall.”

David Atteridge, 61, of Victoria Street, said he ‘couldn’t believe his eyes’.

He said: “The trains shouldn’t be running but if they are it must be safe. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I woke to find a hole in the wall.”

A spokesman from Network Rail said it was notified at around 9.15am yesterday morning.

Three trains were cancelled, five others were delayed and six trains could not complete their journeys along the line.

Buses were drafted in for stranded passengers.Todmorden Railway Station was closed and train journeys between Preston and Leeds were also delayed.

The line was reopened at around 1pm.

The spokesman said an investigation had been launched and the recent rainfall and poor weather could have caused the landslide.

Structural engineers were on the scene yesterday and contractors were due to clear up the debris and make sure the site was secure today for further investigation.

Spokesman Keith Lamley said: "We had monitoring equipment in there and there hasn’t been any movement in the embankment. Whether this has happened because of the recent bad weather it is too early to say. The foundation is still there, it is the top surface which has collapsed. If there were any concerns over safety or the embankment falling into houses or gardens, we wouldn’t be running trains on it.”

He said a hotline had been set up for any compensation claims. People can call 08457 114141 for more information.