Fed-up Tenterden residents fear their town's "pothole crisis" is worsening as temporary repairs to a vital road have fallen apart just days after works were finished.

A number of craters were patched over in East Cross this week following a surge of complaints at the end of last year – but just four days later, the road has returned to ruin.

The situation has left residents so frustrated that campaigners are following up on a petition with a demonstration to call on Kent County Council Highways to fill in more than 60 reported potholes in the area.

The town's Deputy Mayor, Sue Ferguson, says the short lifespan of the repairs is "unacceptable".

"That entire area is not just a resurfacing job - at this point the whole road needs rebuilding," she added.

"I would not be surprised if they found a river under that road. There have been sinkholes and I have reported a water leak there in the last few months.

"I'm not sure what they [KCC Highways] are playing at – is it a lack of money?

"All we want is for it to be properly repaired. It was bad before, but it is even worse now after the snow and ice."

David Ward, secretary of Tenterden Labour branch and a road safety campaigner, describes the situation as "deadly serious".

"This is more than a case of patching it up - the whole road is out of repair at this point," he said.

"I do have sympathy with KCC Highways as they are trapped in underfunding, but the jobs are just not getting done.

"It's good to see them responding, but it's a waste of time if it only lasts a long weekend!"

A number of residents are set to gather at East Cross on Sunday, January 15, which is national pothole day,

"It shouldn't be like this, we should not have to demonstrate," said Mr Lowe.

"The fundamental point is that all of this is a false economy – if you don't spend money to repair roads, everyone pays because the holes get more expensive to fix, and in the meantime everyone's cars get damaged.

"We have reached a tipping point. It's a pothole crisis and it's breathtaking how bad it is."

In May, KCC's cabinet member for transport, Cllr David Brazier (Con), said the demand for pothole repairs in the county had "virtually disappeared" despite concerns raised by councillors.

He said roads are in "much better condition" than they have ever been during his 25 years on the council.

Outside Tenterden, Carly Funnell damaged her car on the A28 between Bethersden and Ashford after hitting a pothole which was filled with rainwater last week.

"It just looked like a puddle," she said.

"I had three children in the car and it made a really loud bang. It was very scary.

"It burst my tyre and I had to pull into someone's driveway because of the children."

The student says she doesn't know how much repairs could cost, but she knows more drivers have also hit the same pothole.

Meanwhile, Declan Moriarty suffered £120 worth of damage to his car after hitting a pothole on the A20.

"I was near Harrietsham heading towards Ashford," he said.

"I went through the whole process of submitting a claim on KCC's website and they rejected it because it was deemed as non-critical.

"It was dangerous enough to bulge a tyre, and my car has pretty big tyres, so I don't get how it is non-critical.

"If you were on a motorbike or something you would be off. Clearly there is something that is not right there."

On New Year's Eve, Dazie Warne was left stranded for hours after hitting a water-filled pothole in Ellingham Way, Ashford.

"Both my front and rear tyre were damaged," she said.

"It has also thrown my tracking off so I have no idea how much it will cost.

"I pulled into the tyre garage two minutes away from where it happened and it was shut, but three other people that had pulled in while I was there waiting to get picked up. They had all just gone down that same pothole.

"I reported it when I got home four hours later but because it was New Year's Eve nowhere was open. It was massive and just a total inconvenience."

A KCC spokesman said that the road had been due for full resurfacing in the 2023/24 financial year – so between April 2023 and 2024 – but would now be prioritised.

“Our highways team is aware of the issues caused by potholes on the A28 in Tenterden," he added.

“The recent sub-zero weather conditions have had a damaging impact on the road surface. As soon as this was reported to us, we urgently sought to complete a temporary repair to remove immediate dangers.

“Unfortunately, the continued bad weather meant the temporary repair broke up, causing further damage to the road surface.

“In line with KCC’s commitment to making sure our roads are suitable for vehicles to use, we are now working towards a full resurfacing of the affected area of the A28. Once a plan has been fully approved, the work will be carried out overnight and is expected to take place in the coming days.

“While this section of road was due for full resurfacing in the 2023/24 financial year, officers have re-prioritised our programme to bring this forward to address the serious conditions created by the poor weather.

“This is in line with our approach set out in the Highways Asset Management Plan, designed to prevent potholes in the future.”

Last year, government funding totalling £27 million was cut from KCC's highways budget from April 2022 to March 2025 – the equivalent of £9m a year – meaning less money is available to carry out pothole repairs.

But Cllr Brazier expressed confidence it would not affect the service provided by KCC, which fixed more than 26,000 potholes last year during its £7.5m 'Pothole Blitz' project.