Gridlock caused by emergency gas works has left residents feeling “trapped” inside their own homes as they struggle to leave their driveways.

Part of the A28 Ashford Road in Thanington, Canterbury, was dug up by SGN nine days ago for the urgent repairs - which were originally scheduled to last a week.

The completion date has since been pushed back to tomorrow (Friday), but the gas firm insists it is working "as quickly and safely as possible" to finish the project promptly.

Despite this, fed-up locals living along the route are urging the company to hurry up.

Resident Patricia Nickle said: “This isn’t just about me, it’s about the community because up and down this road, we all feel trapped in our homes because of the roadworks.

“Everybody would understand if people were out there working, responding to a gas leak.

“But it always appears that nothing is actually going on, every now and then a couple of people will look into the hole, but that’s about it.”

Two-way temporary traffic lights were erected when the project began, allowing motorists to continue using the route.

However, Ms Nickle, a retired teacher, says there have regularly been long tailbacks since the roadworks began.

She says the sight of gridlocked traffic is "horrendous, as the cars block everyone's drives".

“The Ashford Road is terrible for traffic anyway, and we always seem to have temporary traffic lights on this road,” she added.

“To get back onto our drives you’ve got to hold up all the traffic behind you to wait for a gap in the other lane.

“And because of the queues, the pollution is really bad for myself and my granddaughters. That is another worry. It’s all just very unpleasant.”

Another set of temporary traffic lights were erected this morning further along Ashford Road by South East Water, as its teams undertake a separate maintenance project.

A spokesman for SGN has apologised for the delays, but warned it is "difficult to give exact timescales" due to the nature of the work.

“We’d like to apologise for the disruption this is causing to local residents and road users, and assure them we’re working as quickly and safely as possible to complete our essential emergency work," he said.

“Two-way temporary traffic lights are in place to allow our engineers to work and ensure everyone’s safety.

“Due to the nature of this work and the specialist equipment required, it’s difficult to give exact timescales and a completion date.”