A huge 50ft crater that swallowed Love Island star Liam Reardon's front garden has finally been filled in just in time for Christmas.

The sinkhole began as the size of a 'pillow' in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales on December 1, but quickly escalated and grew to be 50ft deep and 16ft wide.

It was heralded by rumblings heard in three households on the street, but they attributed the sound to thunder during Storm Bert.

It took almost a week to come to the surface and gushing water could be heard coming from the bottom of the huge void. It is unclear as to whether Storm Darragh made the hole any bigger.

Many, who have been staying in hotels and AirBnBs nearby, or with family, were able to return to their properties to retrieve clothes and other items but feared they would not be able to get back into their homes before Christmas.

Aerial photos show that the massive hole has now been filled in - with the patch clearly visible outside of the reality TV star's home.

It comes after the first residents were allowed back into their homes last week.

Reardon was forced to evacuate his home after a massive sinkhole swallowed his front garden.

The 25-year-old was having breakfast with his father and sister when the 'front wall and gates disappeared' into the massive 50ft cavity.

Around 300 homes were evacuated earlier after a culvert - a structure which allows water to flow under roads and railways - collapsed.

Residents, who were forced into hotels and Airbnbs, were allowed to return to their properties to retrieve clothing and other items later on.

It is believed the collapse was caused by heavy rain from Storm Bert which also resulted in two landslides.

Last week, the council said work began to fill in the hole after 11 days and seven residents were told it was safe for them to return.

Merthyr council said it was hopeful all homeowners would be home by the middle of this week, once the hole is filled and power restored in the nearby homes.

It said last Wednesday: 'Work is ongoing to fill the void at Nant Morlais. 

'A 6ft steel pipe has been inserted into the existing culvert to support the flow of any overflow water going through it. 

'Contractors are now onsite carrying out temporary works to fill the hole with stone. Utilities have been restored to some properties, so those residents have been allowed to move safely back into their homes today. 

'We are working with utility companies to restore supplies to the remaining properties once the hole is filled, and when this is done the remaining residents will also be able to safely move back home. We anticipate this to be at some point next week.'

Giant boulders were trucked to the cul-de-sac in Pant, Merthyr Tydfil, and placed inside with a JCB in a bid to firm it up.

The surface is set to be laid with tarmac and made good as families make their way home from stays in hotels, AirBnBs or with relatives.

Speaking last week, Brent Carter, leader of Merthyr Tydfil council said: 'Residents have been fantastic and really supportive. Everyone is desperate to come home for Christmas.'

'The site is as secure as it possibly can be. The culvert is in very good shape. Everything is looking good.'

Grandparents Sheila and Meurig Price were one of the first couples to return home after spending 10 days at their daughter's house.

Mr Price said: 'We have been worried but we had a meeting last night with the local authority and they have assured us that it will be safer now than it's ever been.'

Speaking on the podcast he fronts with girlfriend Millie, who he met on the ITV reality show, Liam described how the crater had started out as a 'small sinkhole' and 'progressively got worse and worse'. 

But on Sunday morning, the driveway started 'falling away' as the family were eating breakfast and were quickly told to evacuate the house as fast as possible.

Liam said he and his family are 'virtually homeless' as they are unable to return to the house, which has now been emptied and may have to be knocked down.

Liam said on the podcast: 'I still can't believe it myself. We recently sold our family home and moved into this home a few months ago. We have been renting. We have a massive 60ft sinkhole on our driveway.

'The day before I had driven over that area where the sinkhole appeared about 11am. The tarmac hadn't broken at that point. 

'Got a call at 2pm that afternoon to say there was a small sinkhole at the end of our drive. From there it got worse and worse.

'We were in the house on Sunday morning having breakfast then all of a sudden our front gate and wall disappeared.

'You could hear the thumping of the road disappearing. I was having a cup of coffee, my yoghurt and eggs and everyone was shouting at us to get out. We had to pack a case and just get out.'

He added: 'We can't go back to the house. It has been emptied and apparently it is going to be knocked down. We park our cars where the whole appeared.. Thankfully no-one was injured. We need to find a home to move into now.'

Liam said that they are staying in an AirBnB while they work out where they are going to move to.

Millie said that her friends thought she was winding them up when she told them that it was in front of Liam's house.

Liam and Millie won the seventh series of Love Island in 2021 and had a year-long relationship before briefly splitting in July 2022. 

But they have since reconciled and have been going from strength to strength, with Millie recently admitting that she is ready to take their relationship to the next level.