Residents fed up with motorists cutting corners by driving the wrong way up a one-way street fear it will take an accident before something is done to stop it.

Those who live on Silver Hill Road in Willesborough Lees, Ashford, say people have always flouted the rules by driving up the narrow road - but the situation became worse with the closure of nearby Kennington Road.

The route near the William Harvey Hospital was shut for six weeks after multiple sinkholes were found below the carriageway.

The emergency closure by Southern Water meant the illegal shortcut to Hythe Road was used by more drivers than usual trying to avoid the lengthy diversion down the M20.

Now the sinkholes have been fixed, and the route has reopened, neighbours fear motorists using it as a rat run will only continue unless additional safety measures are introduced.

Grenville Davies, 65, who lives near the roundabout at the bottom of the hill said it will only be a matter of time before there is an accident.

He said: "I think it will get better now Kennington Road is back open to a degree, but those who have realised they can get through still will.

"Opening the road should solve the problem but it happened before the closure, so it will still happen after.

"My neighbour was nearly hit by a car going the wrong way before when he was walking his dog.

"You have to look both ways but you shouldn't have to.

"I’ve emailed Kent Police, I’ve emailed KCC Highways and nobody seems to be interested.

"I think if it was taking place on any other road in the town, something would be done sooner.

"It will take a collision for it to be taken seriously."

Mr Davies, who has lived in the area for two years, feels ANPR cameras or traffic spikes would be a simple solution.

Neighbour Zac Cole, 26, said the issue is made worse by people speeding while they take the route.

"People feel a need to go really fast to get through it as quickly as possible so it's quite dangerous," he said.

"Normally it was one to two drivers a week, but since the road closure it was 30 or 40 a day.

"It was understandable with the diversion but I don't think it was a good enough excuse because it is quite dangerous.

"Making the road two ways is not really an option because it's narrow and because of the parked cars, but a camera to stop people would be good."

Helen Lyons, 60, said: "I think the road closure encouraged people to go the wrong way.

"Since it was closed it has been really bad so hopefully it will stop, but there will probably be the odd one or two.

"It could cause a nasty accident."

KCC says while it is aware of the issue, there are currently no plans to introduce additional measures such as cameras on Silver Hill Road.

With this in mind, Green Party ward Cllr Steve Campkin is urging residents to report drivers who break the rules to help police build a better picture of the situation locally.

He added: "When the closure was first introduced, I immediately asked KCC to put signage up to say no access to Hythe Road but nothing was ever done.

"I’m hoping it gets better but it still needs to be eliminated completely.

"A lot of people were sent up there by their satnavs, I spent some time down there watching and I did see people slamming on breaks, glaring at satnavs and turning around and driving off.

"It needs to be reported as a crime to the police so we have the data we need to do something."

During the six week road closure, police issued a number of warnings urging people not to use the road as a shortcut following several reports of incidents.

Sergeant Katie Reed, of Ashford Community Safety Unit, said: "In September, Kent Police was made aware of community concerns about cars travelling the wrong way along a one-way street in Willesborough, following the temporary closure of a nearby road.

"Members of the Community Safety Unit attended the area and gave words of advice to a number of drivers.

"The registered owners of three vehicles have since been issued with Notices of Intended Prosecution (NIPs).

"Since the reopening of the nearby road, we have received no further reports, but we are always ready to take necessary action to keep Ashford's roads safe."

A Kent County Council spokesman said: “The lengthy emergency closure of Kennington Road and significant diversion has led to more drivers making illegal manoeuvres in Silver Hill Road against the one-way.

“Kent Police are responsible for the enforcement of moving traffic offences and should be notified via their website or by calling their non-emergency telephone number 101.

“Additionally, people can visit www.kent.gov.uk/highways to report problems. At present there are no plans to introduce cameras at this location to aid compliance of the one-way Traffic Regulation Order.”