Major water works which have shut a busy route, causing disruption to thousands of motorists, may finish earlier than expected.

Pipe-laying through Leeds, near Maidstone, was due to carry on until the new year but may be complete before Christmas, even as soon as November.

South East Water (SEW), started laying 535m of new pipes in July with a total closure of the busy B2163, which links the A20 and the A274 between Leeds and Langley.

SEW decided to also close surrounding, single-track country lanes to force the bulk of traffic through Willington Street, near the centre of the county town.

The B2163 carries thousands of vehicles each day and SEW shut the back roads over fears of damage to property, dangerous driving and driver aggression.

The early phase of work, between Upper Street in Leeds and Langley, was completed with few hitches. However, residents branded it a “nightmare” and complained of bins not being collected, damage to property and HGVs ignoring diversion signs.

SEW engineers have told villagers in Leeds that the work may be finished well ahead of schedule.

One said: "We're going great guns at the moment. We want to be out of here as soon as we can - this side of Christmas but even earlier, possibly November."

It was due to take six months.

However, a SEW spokeswoman said the original scheduled finish date of January 2024 was still in place.

She added: "We are slightly ahead in terms of progress and the official line is that we are sticking to the schedule.

"We're anticipating drilling another section on September 14 and this might give us a better idea of when we can finish."

SEW has sent experts into the area with vibration monitors, conscious of the area's recent history of sinkholes.

A decade ago, Leeds was shut off for nearly eight months to fill a deep crater that suddenly opened up.

SEW is spending £460,000 on the work and the project forms part of the utility firm's "commitment" to investing more than £489m into upgrading its infrastructure.

The closures have caused headaches for residents in Chegworth and Otham which have suffered from large volumes of unwanted traffic using their tiny lanes to avoid the long diversion to Willington Street.

There were concerns the true consequence of shutting back roads could not be assessed until this week when the school children return from the summer holidays.

A public meeting hosted by SEW on September 14 is being held at St Nicholas Church, Leeds. Kent County Council (KCC) highways officials will be in attendance.

Newly-appointed KCC highways chief Cllr Neil Baker said: "I have not heard anything back, one way or another, about the situation in Maidstone since the schools went back. I look forward to hearing people's feedback at the meeting next week."

Local KCC member Cllr Gary Cooke said: "Most of the schools are now back and I am not hearing anything untoward presently.

"People know where the closures are and they're working round them. There seems to be an acceptance that this is how it's going to be for now.

"The traffic flows will change now the schools are back but we've always known that. We, as residents, need to be vigilant and report any problems that South East Water need to sort out."

After the closure on July 24, Leeds Castle chief executive Helen Bonser-Wilton said closing the roads during the school holidays, the tourist attraction's busiest period, was “crackers”.

SEW is solely responsible for managing the road closures but has been working closely KCC's highways experts in drawing up its plans.