Police have been called to the scene of a road closure after frustrated motorists tore through barriers blocking off the carriageway.

Shalloak Road in Canterbury has been at the centre of traffic chaos this morning after a burst water main yesterday forced workers to shut off the rat run.

Barriers put up by Clancy on behalf of South East Water caused mile-long tailbacks, but this morning the fencing had been knocked down by drivers attempting to cut through the closure.

A Dengrove Park resident, who asked not to be named, told KentOnline the initial incident had left the road “looking like a river”.

“People have been queuing from the A291 for about two hours - it’s been absolute carnage,” he said.

“The water was turned off for a bit yesterday though it’s back on now luckily.

“But there’s a massive hole in the road and nobody knows how safe it is. The barriers were put up to protect the road until somebody could come in and fix it.”

Frustrated drivers took to Facebook to complain, with one even going as far as to abandon their car and walk back home to avoid the traffic.

Road closure website one.network reports the road as being closed from 3.30pm on Sunday.

At about 9.30am today there was an unmanned digger at the scene, next to a huge hole in the carriageway.

A spokesperson for police said: “Kent Police was called to a report that fencing around a temporary road works site on Shalloak Road, Broad Oak had been damaged at around 9.20am on Monday October 2.

“Officers attended and managed resulting traffic. Enquiries to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.”

Adam Newbury, Distribution Manager for South East Water, said: “We’re sorry to customers affected by the road closure in Shalloak Road, Canterbury. This was due to the need to repair a burst water main within the carriageway.

“We understand road closures can be disruptive and frustrating, and these are always a last resort. However, for the safety of motorists, the public and our team, the repair work needed for this burst main required us to close the road.

“We are aware that members of the public have moved the safety fencing and are driving through the work site, and we would urge people not to do this as driving over excavated works can be dangerous, as well as prolonging the repair work unnecessarily.

“Our team are attending the closure today to return the site to its original state having now repaired the burst. The road will be reopened as soon as it is safe to do so and the road surface reinstated.”