Frustrated residents fear a month-long leak outside a garden centre has wasted almost 200,000 litres of water - as a hosepipe ban enters its fourth day.

Bosses at South East Water were alerted to the issue in Kennington at the end of May - but drivers and pedestrians are still splashing through the flowing water more than a month on.

Nine Acres resident Chris Giles reported the leak outside Longacres Bybrook Barn and Harvester in Cemetery Lane on May 26.

He says he cannot understand why no action has been taken as parts of Kent, including Ashford, have been under a hosepipe ban since Monday.

South East Water says demand for drinking water has left them with “no choice” but to introduce restrictions for customers.

But Mr Giles, 58, fears the leak, which is next to New Hayesbank Surgery, is wasting "at least a litre every 15 seconds".

"I reported this leak a month ago and in the 28 days up until now, it means about 183,000 litres of treated water is just running down the drain all while the chairman of South East Water is telling us to be careful with our water usage," he said.

“That would appear to me, in the current crisis, to be a lot of water to waste.

“We are coming up to a quarter of a million litres being wasted. Why have they not dealt with it?"

Mr Giles says he contacted the water company again on Saturday and signed up to receive updates on the leak.

“I received an update about an hour after I spoke to them that the leak had been fixed when it has not,” he said.

“I would like South East Water to explain to me and the other people who pay their water bills, what exactly is that leak doing there?

“It is a disgrace.

“The scary thing is if that is not prioritised because it is not bad enough, what the heck are we losing on a daily basis which they are going out to fix instantly? That is a very scary thought.”

A spokesman for South East Water said teams attended the site on Monday but were told the work would need to be done outside of New Hayesbank Surgery’s opening hours.

“We will reattend out of hours and fix the leak to ensure the safety of everyone involved,” they said.

Catherine Jones, of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) group, feels there needs to be better communication from water companies.

“We know there is nothing more frustrating than being asked to save water and looking at your company wasting water as you walk past the same leak in the road day after day,” she said.

“We have spoken to companies about starting to improve communications with customers so making it easier to report a leak, making it clearer of their website, and making sure people know what is happening. Companies need to go faster and further with this.

“It is not acceptable when we talk about water being such a precious and finite resource, to watch our water companies wasting water.”

South East Water’s hosepipe ban means customers are prevented from using them for watering their gardens, washing cars, patios and boats and from filling swimming and paddling pools.

Rule-breakers can be fined up to £1,000.

Yesterday, a massive leak erupted in Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, sending water high into the air.

Video footage showed a huge towering spray of water shooting above nearby houses on the street.