"We were not scared of anything in those days but seeing the ground collapse in front of us really made us run," said Peter Topley, 67, reminiscing on the times sinkholes appearing in Barming in the 1960s were a regular source of entertainment for kids exploring the the area.

Mr Topley now lives in the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford but grew up in Barming Heath, an area which has become notorious for the voids he says have been a problem ever since he can remember.

"It was about 50 years ago when I was 18 up at Oakapple Lane," he added, "there used to be an orchard and we were grubbing out all the trees and the land sunk right in front of us.

"We ran to the side of Heath Road until it had finished moving but about 20 or 30 trees went down in that one."

Kevin Best who now lives in Maidstone town centre also remembers the holes making regular appearances when he lived in Cherry Orchard Way in the 90s.

The 67-year-old said: "My neighbour had a sinkhole in his garden and his wife was mowing the lawn one day and her foot started to sink into the ground.

"She jumped to the path and when it opened up it was a good 16ft deep.

"Also about 30 years ago when they were building the oncology department at Maidstone Hospital, I was walking along a footpath at the back one day and I saw a 60ft oak tree had disappeared along with part of the retaining wall."

One of the most memorable sinkholes for Mr Best is one that opened in at the crossroad junction of Hermitage Lane, Heath Road and St Andrews Road in September, 1994.

The void which became the talk of the town was just metres from where the more recent sinkhole appeared in front of the Taj Barming restaurant in Tonbridge Road in 2018.

He said: "My next door neighbour used to be a nurse at the hospital, he was the one who told me the road had been blocked off.

"Me being nosy I went down to have a look and it was quite big, maybe about 8ft wide.

"The road was shut for weeks while it was repaired."

Helen Brenchley remembers the same sinkhole causing havoc on her way to work at the neonatal department at Maidstone Hospital.

The 62-year-old from Kennington in Ashford said: "I heard about it on the traffic news on the way to work and two or three days later a colleague and I wandered along the road in our lunch break to take a look.

"By the time I got down there it was well cordoned off but it was a huge hole, probably the size of half a tennis court."

The latest landslip appeared just last week near a newbuild housing estate in Hermitage Lane.

It opened on Sunday, September 25 on a section of green near Bovis Homes' Orchards Fields development.

Bovis has confirmed it is working as quickly as possible to fix the hole and has taken precautions to reassure residents the area is safe.

A Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the collapse or landslip in the corner of the sustainable urban drainage scheme (SUDS) in land adjacent to Hermitage Lane and is monitoring the situation closely.

"This has happened on land privately owned by Bovis Homes and all indications show that they are taking steps to remedy this.

“The council did not perform building control duties for this site as the land owner Bovis Homes used an alternate approved inspector.

“During the planning stage MBC did place planning conditions on the land in respect of the sustainable drainage system which Bovis Homes installed at the new housing site and therefore do have enforcement powers to remedy any shortfalls.

"However we are assured that Bovis Homes are in control and are putting it right.

“MBC does have a statutory responsibility to temporarily rehouse residents should the need arise.”

The hole MBC refers to from before opened in 2018 in a car park near a Bovis showhome.

An investigation revealed it was likely caused by a water leak and building continued as no safety concerns were highlighted.

Looking back on the incident, a Bovis Homes spokesperson said: “Our team responded quickly to repair the area of ground movement back in 2018 and communicated extensively with local residents at the time.

"Thorough investigations revealed there had been a leak to a surface water drain that was the potential cause and there have been no further movements in that area since.

“Before we started building at Barming the development was subject to extensive soil density testing and the plans for each home were approved by the NHBC and Building Control, with each home built on the appropriate design of foundation.

"The NHBC have provided 10-year structural warranties for all new-build properties on the development.

“As part of our commitment to go above and beyond in our customer service, we have continued to carry out further monitoring and testing.”

But despite reassurances, the latest appearance has prompted fresh concerns over why homes continue to be built on land with such an unstable history.

Residents who recently moved in to the new development say they never would have bought houses there if they knew what it was like before.

People's memories combined with geology reports show the land in Barming is, and always has been, susceptible to sinkholes.

As it lies above the river Medway it is subject to cambering, a process which causes fractures to form in the bedrock which can cause the ground to collapse.

Ground reports from planning applications show developers are aware of the land's history with sinkholes being referenced in the applications for 500 homes by Croudace in 2014, the Orchard Fields by Bovis approved in 2015 as well as the new Pea Fields development which has just been deferred by Maidstone Borough Council, to name a few.

In 2015, despite MBC and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) rejecting an application for developers Croudace to build 500 homes near Hermitage Lane, the Secretary of State granted permission in an appeal.

The report shows despite concerns being raised about the stability of the land known for ‘the opening of sudden sinkholes' these matters have not prevented other developments nearby and so are 'not reasons to dismiss this appeal'.

Campaign groups against the new Pea Fields development have also raised concerns that sinkholes will only continue to be a problem.

If approved it will see 187 new homes built on Oakapple Lane by Taylor Wimpey just behind where Mr Topley describes the ground opening in the 60s.

Environment reports warn that 'significant risks' come with redeveloping the land which 'should not be overlooked'.

Taking this into consideration, the ground conditions note recommends the risks can be managed through clever design, with particular attention given to site drainage.

Despite the 'clever designs' and promises that the ground is safe, at least eight sinkholes have appeared near homes in Barming since 2014.

The regularity of the voids has led to two Kent MPs joining forces calling for new developments to be halted.

Helen Grant for Maidstone and The Weald, and Tracey Crouch for Chatham and Aylesford, have taken up the matter with the housing minister and hope a full geological investigation is undertaken before any more homes are approved.

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