Residents say the traffic diverting past their homes because of the M20 chaos is 'horrendous'.

People living at Repton Park in Ashford say lorries navigating the A20 have caused constant noise at night and clogs up the Drovers Roundabout down to the junction for Orchard Heights, making it difficult to get off the estate.

For seven days now, cross-Channel delays have been creating chaos on the M20.

And last night three more junctions on the coastbound carriageway were closed from Maidstone to Hythe as Operation 'Brock Zero' was brought in.

It's the name given to the operation which sees the head of the queue moved from just before Junction 9, near Ashford, down to Junction 11, near Hythe.

It means a total of four junctions – not including Junction 11 – are closed so traffic is being sent on a lengthy diversion through Harrietsham, Lenham, Ashford and Hythe.

As a result, more traffic than normal is ending up on the A20 at the Drovers Roundabout, outside the Repton estate in Ashford.

Natalie Smith, 56, who has lived there for six years says this is the first time she has seen problems on this scale.

She added: "Through the night it's noisy, you can hear the lorries and it's constant.

"I have even cancelled a hospital appointment that I have on Monday because it's in Folkestone and I don't want to be stuck in it all.

"It has been absolutely horrendous this past week and it all piles up."

Neighbour Suzy Stonehouse said getting her children to school has been the biggest problem with the traffic recently.

The 42-year-old said: "To do the school run in the morning, you can't get out of here because the road gets backed up.

"It can take sometimes 20 minutes just to get past Drovers Roundabout.

"Half-term means I haven't had the stress of needing to go out at that time but yesterday it was still backed up and I thought, it's a good job I don't need to do the school run at the moment.

"It's like you're trapped in."

Fred Coleman, 57, said when traffic gets bad, it's usually backed up to the roundabout at Orchard Heights, adding: "It's also a pain getting out of here but there is another way out of the estate.

"Generally it's the lorries that are the problem.

"They're braking at the traffic lights and the squeaking of the brakes is the worst thing and it goes on all night.

"The road is generally quiet and you don't usually see lorries but it's only now they are being diverted there are problems."

When asked if he thinks the latest diversion through Ashford will help keep things moving he said: "As a person who uses the motorway, it's a pain but if needs must.

"With P&O not running and more people travelling because of Easter, I don't know what else the government is supposed to do.

"They did talk about lorry parks but you need thousands of places which we don't have."

Motorists in Ashford say Junction 10 has become a no-go area with some usually short journeys taking up to 20 minutes.

Diversion sign posts on the Drovers Roundabout are also causing confusion with multiple signs pointing in different directions at each junction.

It is also causing problems elsewhere across the county including the notorious Brenley Corner roundabout - where the A2, M2 and A299 converge.

National Highways say it will remain reduced to one lane for the rest of April as part of a plan to reduce hold-ups at Dover.

Its lane closure - along with the M20, Roundhill Tunnel and A2 closures - is having repercussions across the county's major road network as drivers fearful of mammoth delays look for alternative routes.

Officers are using the Faversham junction as a stopping point to prevent HGV drivers from travelling along the A2 to reach the port and Channel Tunnel.