Speed bumps which have been damaging cars have been removed and are being replaced with fake ones.

The new measures – which are part of Kent County Council (KCC) improvements to Stanhope Road in Swanscombe – have been welcomed by road users.

Since the traffic-calming measures were installed two years ago, residents have complained about how brutal the bumps were because of their 10cm height.

Motorist Nikki Thompson said: "I snapped my front spring driver's side because they were so huge. I am delighted they have gone."

Fellow resident Joanne Hales agreed: "I think there should be a celebration or a street party now they are gone.

"I'm going to have to go out in my car and drive down there just to feel the wonderful road without worrying I'm going to take the bottom off my car.

"The bumps were dreadful. They were too high and did lots of damage to lots of people's cars over the years."

Arriva bus driver Katie Bell used to go over the bumps up to 50 times in one shift and said they regularly damaged the buses.

"They were really bad bumps and they caused quite a bit of damage. Even if the vehicle was empty and you went slowly the undercarriage still scraped it.

"I am relieved they have gone but maybe the roads could be marked better with signs such as 'slow down' and 'school ahead'.

"There are some very speedy drivers who whizz around so there does need to be something there."

Resident Jan McDermott said: "I hope the ones they replace them with are better and don't scrape the underneath of your car."

The speed bumps are being replaced – but with optical illusions of fake humps. This involves painting on markings which look like a bump in the road and deceive drivers into slowing down.

Virtual speed humps were first introduced by Transport for London in 2014 and are described as creating an "optical illusion, appearing raised or 3D to drivers as they approach, giving the impression that speed humps lie ahead".

These fake humps were installed in roads in Ashford in 2019, when a KCC spokesman said: "We anticipate more psychological traffic-calming measures being implemented at sites across the county which aim to encourage a reduction in vehicle speed through changing the driver’s perception of the road environment."

Cllr Peter Harman (Swanscombe & Greenhithe Residents' Association) – who represents the area on KCC – says he has been relaying residents' concerns to County Hall for the past two years and is delighted their voices have been heard.

"They have finally been removed because of the disruption they caused," he said.

"There is a height limit for speed bumps and these were the biggest permissible. It really did not work well."

The new virtual bumps have yet to be installed but Cllr Harman says he has been keeping a close eye on the traffic situation.

"The traffic seems to be moving quite well and not speeding at all. The large speed table seems to be doing a good job of slowing the traffic down."

Many residents are now calling for the remaining large bump – the speed table – to be removed or made into a pedestrian crossing.

But Cllr Harman said that would be staying and explained the reason it had not been made into a zebra crossing.

"It's described as an informal crossing," he said. "That is a place known as being where people cross the road.

"It has never been made into a pedestrian crossing because it is too close to a junction, there is no pavement and there is not enough space.

"However, it does do a really good job of slowing the traffic down and people are confident they can cross the road safely there."

Other work on the road includes the installation of concrete kerbs, in a bid to stop the flooding which occurs whenever there is significant rain and earth from the banks is washed into the drains.