Residents heard dogs barking as land fell away outside their homes early in the morning.

A sinkhole was then discovered at around 7am on Sunday morning, taking with it part of a drive way and fence panels.

One eye witness who lives close by in Broomshaw Road, Barming, said voids are not a new thing in the road.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "It was about 7am when there was a lot of barking and a lady who was walking her dog knocked and told me what had happened.

"A few years ago the tree in my garden nearly vanished because we had a sinkhole on our lawn which nearly flooded the house.

"The water board have been here to make sure they know what damage it has caused.

"We might lose our garage because the land has broken up around the edge of our fence."

The resident added that she was left without water for about four to five hours as workers started to look into what caused the void.

She said she was told it could be down to the way soil reacts to the weather.

If it washes away it can no longer support what is above, she had been told.

With it being the Easter weekend, the earliest a team of contractors can get to the site to begin filling it in is on Tuesday morning.

Housing officials will be anxious to make sure this does not happen again, as the neighbouring green land is being earmarked for future development.

Asked what she would say to people thinking of buying a property in the land nearby the witness said: "Good luck to them."