Drivers and buses are facing diversions once again after Thames Water shut the same stretch of road for the second time in less than a week.

Children travelling home from school and commuters face extended journey times as they are forced to find alternative routes as London Road was once again shut outside McDonald's in Greenhithe from lunchtime today.

The area of London Road opposite McDonald's has been dug up less than a week after the same section of road was closed.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "We received reports of low water pressure on Hill Crest Drive in Greenhithe on Friday, March 24.

"Our engineers investigated and located a leak. They are now carrying out the necessary repairs, which includes replacing a short stretch of pipework.

“We expect to complete the work in the next couple of days and traffic management protocols will remain in place until the repair work has been completed.

"We are sorry to residents and motorists for any inconvenience caused during this time.

"Finding and fixing leaks is a top priority, with over 1,300 repairs made each week – that’s one leak every 7.5 minutes.”

It comes less than a week after Thames Water caused gridlock when it closed two sections of the same road for "non-essential" repairs.

Traffic was brought to a standstill by the junction of Sanderling Close in Greenhithe and at The George and Dragon pub in Swanscombe last Friday as the water company coned off the road and put up three-way temporary traffic lights.

Spokesman for Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association Peter Harman was not impressed.

"They were doing repairs to drainage covers which is not emergency work," he said.

"KCC Highways are planning to sanction Thames Water as they feel the work should have been done as a single day weekend work rather than under the emergency works permit scheme."

The five-mile stretch of road has been dug up more than 70 times in the last five years.

It has left residents increasingly frustrated as they continue to face issues with their water supply.