Crabble Corn Mill is at risk of major structural damage if lorries continue to thunder through River.

Chairman Harry Reid said two to three cracks had appeared in a wall that separates the river from the road.

He fears the situation could cause more harm to the mill and will eventually cause the river to burst.

Mr Reid said: “I think there will eventually be a major burst of the river which could cause structural damage to the mill.

“It is more than 200 years old and it was built when Lower Road was nothing more than a horse and carriage track.”

'It was built when Lower Road was nothing more than a horse and carriage track.' - Mr Reid

The mill shares ownership of the wall with KCC Highways, but he said that repair work would take months and is “far outside of reach.”

The building, which has been standing since 1812, is run by volunteers and it is funded by donations.

Mr Reid’s idea of a solution would be to install signs deterring lorries exceeding 7.5 tonnes from using the narrow residential roads.

“Certain people take pictures of the lorries turning around,” he said. “They get themselves into all sorts of a mess.

“There is no need for an artic in River. The only ones who need supply are the two pubs and a couple of shops.”

Mr Reid said there are signs in Lower Road and Common Lane that are illustrated with arrows, encouraging truckers into the village.

River Cllr Pauline Beresford said that she is regularly informed of lorry situation.

She said: “We do get some lorries through this area and most of them do get turned back at the bridge in Kearsney.

“They have been going to dead-ends from their sat navs who say they will reach the industrial estate.”

Geoff Lymer, KCC member for Dover West, said: “Following complaints during 2014 by members of Crabble Corn Mill, regarding HGVs travelling along Lower Road, I had a site meeting with members, where I was shown water possibly leaking from the bund for the mill, flowing across the road.

"At the time members of Crabble Mill told me this water flowing along the road had not existed a few years earlier and they believed it to be caused as a result of perceived damage caused by HGVs.

“I arranged for structural engineers to examine the area, covering the whole of the bund and to cover a small road bridge further back along Lower Road. The engineer's report showed no structural damage.

“I am currently looking into alternative measures to prevent the more determined foreign HGV driver from using the Alkham Valley Road, with the resultant problems by the rail bridge at Temple Ewell.”