A narrow pavement alongside a 60mph road has been described as "Kent's most dangerous path" by furious villagers.

Residents in Boughton Aluph near Ashford say they are being forced to walk or cycle on a poorly kept pavement along the A251.

The path, which goes from Eastwell Manor's entrance to Kennington, runs alongside Faversham Road and is the only route leading out of the village to Ashford.

Residents say more needs to be done to protect those who use the path, which shrinks to around a metre wide at points.

Faversham Road resident Denyse Anthony says walking along the road is "absolutely terrifying".

"I avoid it whenever possible but that is not very easy from where I am," she said.

"It's absolutely impossible to walk a dog on it if they don't understand the need to stay on the pavement.

"There are cars and lorries that come down here and they stay at 60mph at a minimum despite it going from a 60mph limit to 40mph before the village.

"You worry about being hit in the head by a lorry's wing mirror, they come so close."

Resident Jim Smith agrees, saying the state of the hedges and blackberry bushes is so bad that some villagers are "cut off" as they are unable to use the path.

"Loads of people need to go to Kennington to shop, go to the gym or the GP and so on," he explained.

"But nobody cuts the blackberry bushes back despite them cutting the path off in places. To get around, they have to enter the road.

"Someone will get killed – our children cannot cycle to school without entering the road, and our elderly population with mobility scooters have to either enter the road or stay trapped in the village, unable to get to the shops."

While all residents agree that the bushes need to be trimmed back, most argue that an even greater problem is speeding along the road.

One even went as far as to record himself attempting to cycle down the path, being stopped several times by brambles.

Faversham Road homeowner John Hamer said: "It's all very well if you can walk single file but what if you have dogs or children that don't understand or can't walk single file?

"The speeding around here is a real, deadly problem. We've had countless crashes along this road, some of them fatal further up.

"They have speed restrictions on the A20, why can't they do it here?"

Simon Standford added: "The speed limit needs to be enforced, for sure, there needs to be something done to make sure motorists adhere to the 40mph limit.

"A start would be cutting the bushes back – there is a sign there that is supposed to display the speed you are doing, but it is so overgrown it can't get a read on any cars!"

A Kent County Council spokesman says the authority has arranged for an inspection of the path.

“Enforcing the speed limit is the job of Kent Police," he added.

"We work with local communities through parish highway improvement plans to listen to, and where we can address, residents’ concerns.

“We have arranged for the condition of the footpath to be logged so it can be inspected by our team of stewards. Residents can do this by visiting www.kent.gov.uk/highways.”