A father was rushed to hospital after an area of pavement recently worked on gave way under him.

Bryan Mabb, 23, has experienced back pain and a swollen wrist - with his arm left in a sling - since the fall.

Mr Mabb was walking to his mother's house in Musgrove, Ashford, with his girlfriend Lauren Rogers to pick up their children.

The couple moved out of the way for on oncoming bike and Mr Mabb's foot went through a soft area of tarmac, tripping him over.

An ambulance was called to the scene and the father-of-two has since been off work.

Mr Mabb said: "I think it is ridiculous how the work was carried out and wasn't inspected. I could have snapped my leg.

"There are a lot of elderly people living in that area and it would have been terrible if one of them had fallen through it. There were no warnings signs.

"When I fell it really hurt my back. They gave me morphine at the hospital but when it wore off it started hurting again. I will put a claim in."

The couple, who live in Willesborough, covered the hole up as they were concerned someone else might fall down and hurt themselves.

Miss Rogers said: "It was so dangerous. It looked like pavement but the ground just caved in.

"It looks like they had only recently done it. It was like a thin layer of tarmac over a shallow hole. We pushed a bit of the tarmac and it just crumbled away."

South East Water had been in the area undertaking maintenance work last week.

Steve Andrews, head of customer and commercial services, said: "We would like to express our concerns over Mr Mabb's injury and wish him a speedy recovery.

"We take health and safety at all our sites very seriously, it is a high priority for us, and we will undertake a thorough investigation of the incident."