A 10ft sinkhole has been filled a month after it appeared.

Hackney Road in Maidstone has reopened following repairs by Southern Water.

The void was first noticed on July 11 at the junction with Milton Street.

The utility company said it suspected a collapsed sewer pipe was the cause.

Hackney Road had been cordoned off meaning motorists exiting the one-way Milton Street could only turn left and not right.

Some drivers had been ignoring the signs and moved barriers to drive around them.

Fant resident Emma Archer-Simms told KentOnline: “People are driving the wrong way down Milton Street, Dover Street and Pope Street, and with people mounting the kerb to get around.”

But repairs did not begin until a fortnight after the void appeared.

The road closure caused further disruption to the 78 Nu Venture bus route.

The recent sinkhole is not the first to open up in the Fant area.

Last December part of the road and pavement collapsed at the junction of Gatland Lane and Farleigh Lane.

And, two years prior another had appeared nearby in Tonbridge Road measuring 5m by 6m.