Frustrated villagers and their relatives have been left nervous to drive on flooded and pothole-strewn roads.

Cars have been damaged due to the conditions in West Hougham, near Dover, with a delivery driver getting stuck and one Mercedes owner having his vehicle written off.

Fed-up residents called earlier this year for Kent County Council (KCC) to take urgent action over the roads – but now, two months on, they say temporary fixes are not working.

However, the authority says it is focussed on repairing potholes and work is already underway to mitigate flooding in the village.

As of January, there were an estimated 90 potholes in the village.

One resident, Steve Clark, says his elderly mother does not visit him anymore due to the state of the surrounding roads.

Mr Clark was left with a £220 bill to replace an alloy wheel and tyre which cracked in three places after he drove over a pothole.

He said: "My mum, who is in her eighties now, won't come to visit because she doesn't want to risk driving down here.

"She decided to stop coming down here just before Christmas. It's not good.

"I know there are issues everywhere, but I think we have it particularly bad where we are.”

Another villager, Gerald Viljoen, was upset when his Mercedes E2 20, which he had only owned for 18 months, was written off in January after getting stuck in a flooded road.

The 59-year-old’s son stalled while trying to get out of deep water in Satmar Lane. The liquid had got into the luxury car’s engine, leaving it irreparably damaged.

Mr Viljoen’s insurance subsequently paid out the car's value so he could buy another one – a second hand BMW X1.

He said: “I was pretty gutted. The BMW is a higher car so I thought it would be more suitable for the roads but you shouldn’t have to think about this when getting a car.

“We just feel like nothing is happening at the moment – the council needs to take it seriously. People shouldn’t have to worry about damaging their cars on the roads.

“My wife owns a Porsche which I’m too scared to take out because you can’t avoid some of the potholes and it’s such a low car.”

Resident Nick Abel forked out for new tyres after hitting two potholes.

His wife had to get a new exhaust after her Fiat 500 hit flint which had built up in the middle of Gravel Lane.

Resident of 12 years Sally Herzog ordered a takeaway in February which never arrived after the delivery driver’s car got stuck in water in Satmar Lane. She says flooding is the worst it’s ever been.

Steve Oxenham, who started a pothole action group in the village, is aware of more than 25 incidents of damage to vehicles due to the state of the roads and flooding, with estimated costs amounting to more than £50,000.

He adds that many of the claims for compensation to KCC are dismissed.

Mr Oxenham argues the work that has been carried out on the road so far is not up to scratch.

He said: “The villagers and the action group are extremely frustrated not just by the state of the roads but with the level of workmanship on the repairs that have actually taken place.”

A KCC spokesman said workers are set to repair potholes in Eight Acres, which covers a significant stretch of the village, and a team is currently fixing drainage issues and the road surface at Broadsale Lane, a main route in the area.

They said: “We know how disruptive and frustrating it can be for the public when potholes are left untreated, which is why we remain focused on repairing faults discovered on our highway network.

“We invest in the order of £50 million a year repairing potholes and faults and resurfacing our roads and footways across Kent. This is made up of government grant funding and additional investment with KCC’s own capital budget.

“This year we have received a further £8.6 million in government funding which will be used to deliver our Pothole Blitz programme.

“These repairs will include medium to large-scale resurfacing, making permanent first-time fixes and also the prevention of potholes forming on those roads in the future.

“Teams will be out on Eight Acres to carry out Pothole Blitz works, and drainage works are currently underway at Broadsole Lane to remedy flooding issues and repair the road surface.

“All claims for compensation are thoroughly investigated and assessed in accordance with our duties under the Highways Act.”