Thames Water caused gridlock when it closed two sections of a 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 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.

"They are going to bring this up with Thames Water at their next meeting as they should only be doing non-emergency maintenance at the weekends.

"This should have been done at the weekend."

'We expect to complete the work later today. Two-way traffic lights will remain in place until then and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused...'

A Thames Water spokesman said: "We are sorry to residents and motorists who have been impacted by the current work taking place on London Road in Greenhithe.

"Our teams are currently on two different sites repairing damaged water meter covers on the road.

"We expect to complete the work later today. Two-way traffic lights will remain in place until then and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused."

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.