A woman has spoken of her dismay at being woken at two o'clock in the morning to find her home flooding.

Annette Pantell, a research fellow at the University of Newcastle, was asleep in her home at the foot of Farleigh Lane, in Maidstone, just below the railway level crossing when her burglar alarm sounded.

The water had come in her front door and shorted out the electrics, which set off the alarm.

When she went downstairs it was to find water slurping about her hallway and a small lake outside her front door.

A quick investigation soon revealed the source of the problem, water was bubbling up through the pavement at the front of the property.

Fortunately, Dr Pantall occupies the first-floor apartment of the converted railway workers' cottages, and so was not too badly affected other than her ground floor entrance lobby and the foot of her staircase.

Her neighbour on the ground floor was less fortunate and was flooded throughout. He has had to move out of his home while it is made habitable again - a process that included replacing the floor-boards.

Dr Pantall said South East Water responded quickly to the emergency. She said: "They were brilliant."

Within an hour, work was under way to stop the leak.

The problem turned out to be a 2cm hole in an old Victorian cast-iron water main.

She said: "I saw the offending pipe when they took it out; it had rusted through."

But what South East Water hoped would be a simple repair taking only a few hours soon turned out to be otherwise.

As they filled in one hole after repair a second leak occurred a few feet down the road. Then when that was fixed and the workmen went to turn the valve in the road that would put the water supply back on, that too started leaking and had to be replaced.

Residents in the area were left without water for much of Wednesday while the repair was carried out, but they were supplied with bottled water.

Dr Pantall praised all those involved, which included South East Water, engineers from Network Rail who attended to check that the leak had not affected the stability of the level-crossing, South East Water's contractors Clancy Docwra, and a firm called Ideal Response called in by the water company to renovate the flooded homes.

She said: "Everyone has been marvellous and as helpful as possible. I was especially grateful to the men from Clancy Docwra working in the sweltering heat of this week."

But Dr Pantall was less appreciative of the water company's sticking-plaster repair policy.

She said: "They have fixed this leak, but the mains here clearly need replacing. This is the fourth burst main we have had in the past 10 years to my knowledge.

"Replacing the mains would undoubtedly require disrupting the level crossing and be very expensive, which I suppose is why they are not doing it."

In the meantime, East Farleigh Bridge has been closed to motorists since Wednesday morning.

That has not stopped motorist continuing to cross the bridge, after driving past two sets of Road Closed signs.

They have then been forced to do a three-point turn in Riverside Park or reverse back across the bridge - not an easy manoeuvre for anyone.

Dr Pantall said: "I feel sorry for the workmen. They've been getting a lot of abuse."

While a KentOnline reporter was at the site, an exception was made for a driver towing a caravan driver coming down Farleigh Lane and wishing to turn into Riverside Park. The motorist was unable to go the long way round and approach from the East Farleigh side because his vehicle was too wide to cross the bridge.

Workmen moved the barriers to allow him to pass.

But otherwise motorists should note: East Farleigh Bridge is closed and is likely to remain so until Tuesday.

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