Work to protect the streets of Canterbury by installing more than 100 terror bollards in the city centre has begun.

Set to be completed before Halloween, the “immensely complex” project has been designed to stop a hostile vehicle from being used as a weapon on the city’s pedestrian-filled streets.

A series of road closures will now come into force throughout the next three months as work to deliver the £789,000 scheme is carried out.

Construction work has this week begun in Iron Bar Lane.

Kent County Council has made an order to ban traffic on various routes in the city - it came into force on Monday, and will remain until Thursday, October 31.

Actual dates for specific road closures are yet to be revealed, however, it is expected that only one road will be closed at any given time. Routes set to be shut include St Margaret’s Street, Sun Street, Burgate, Best Lane, Guildhall Street and a section of St Peter’s Street.

The new bollards will add to the existing 19 installed outside the Marlowe Theatre earlier this year in a separate £131,000 scheme.

Canterbury City Council devised the security plan following advice from counter-terrorism police.

The 24-hour defences will be positioned in 18 locations across Canterbury, with half being automatic and the rest fixed into the ground.

Once up and running, access to the city will be strictly governed by CCTV control room staff who will monitor an intercom system all day, every day.

The county council warns that the scheduled programme may be hampered due to weather or archaeological factors, but state that “every effort” will be made to keep to the planned dates.

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