A water company says there could be five months of disruption when work gets underway to install a new pipeline.

South East Water want to put in a 750 metre length of pipe from the roundabout at Orchard Heights on the A20 at Ashford to connect to the existing network at Fougeres Way.

The £474,000 scheme will run adjacent to The Warren and to the north of the John Lewis store, and will last for 20 weeks.

A 90 metre section of roadworks will be completed on the A20, but the company says the rest of the scheme will be in Warren Lane or on private land.

It means the car park for the woodlands will be closed for five weeks starting on Monday, July 24, and the company says Kent Wildlife Trust is fully aware of the plans, with alternative routes and car parking for the woods being made available during the period.

South East Water project manager Matthew Cooper said: “We know such engineering work can be inconvenient to anyone who regularly visits The Warren.

“But we hope people do understand the long term benefit of a new water main which will guarantee future supplies of top quality drinking water as the community expands.

“A team of engineers from South East Water and our contractors will be on hand to answer any questions people may have at our drop-in session next week and I urge residents to attend if they have any concerns.”

The drop-in session will take place between 4pm to 6pm on Wednesday, July 12 at the Ashford International Hotel in Simone Weil Avenue.