It is being called the great mystery of Minster and has become a new tourist attraction after suddenly appearing overnight.

Residents on the Isle of Sheppey woke to find a gaping hole had opened up in the cemetery of the 1,400-year-old Minster Abbey.

Video: The mystery hole at Minster Abbey

There are two main theories of how it got there - if you discount the third suggestion currently gathering momentum among villagers that it is actually the entrance to Hell which has appeared because of the Island's record high coronavirus infection rate.

Some believe it could be a long forgotten Victorian tomb.

Others maintain the start of an escape tunnel for nuns and errant clergy has been rediscovered.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains that there is huge hole where grass grew only last night.

An emergency crew from Swale council was dispatched this morning and surrounded it with plastic barriers to stop anyone accidentally falling in.

This afternoon two police community support officers in the form of Ashden Judd and Sarah Jones turned up.

"We've come to look into it," they announced. But both admitted they were as flummoxed as everyone else. Two other colleagues joined them later.

Throughout the afternoon a steady stream of inquisitive onlookers, alerted by posts on social media, began arriving to peer into the void.

Among them was Perry Clutterbuck, 36, from nearby Baldwin Road. "I saw it on Facebook and decided to bring my dogs Blue and Harvey for a walk," he explained.

Brennen Spocchia, 13, from Kings Road was taken along by his mum. "She wanted to give me a history lesson," said the Sittingbourne School pupil, although he confessed she had no idea of the exact cause, either.

What is certain is that the collapse has revealed a man-made chamber built of bricks.

There have long been dark stories of hidden tunnels around the Abbey. There is said to be one which links the former King's Arms pub, which has since been turned into the Charisma cocktail bar. Another is said to link the cellars of the former Prince of Waterloo pub which is being turned into a restaurant.

Some say there is an even longer tunnel linking the Abbey church of St Mary and St Sexburga to Shurland Hall, the former home of Robert de Shurland and the Legend of Grey Dolphin, at Eastchurch.

Whatever the cause, it remains to be seen what will happen to the hole next.

Read more: All the latest news from Sheppey