A village will be without buses for six months because of work to lay new water mains.

South East Water is to shut the B2163, Upper Street, through Leeds from Monday, July 24.

The road is the main road through Leeds and connects the A20 with the A274 Sutton Road.

Norman Kemp, the owner of the Nu Venture bus company, said: “During major road works on the narrow B2163, the Nu-Venture bus 13 will be unable to access its normal route through Leeds from July 24 until January next year.

“The village itself will now be left without buses for the duration as there are no safe places nearby which are capable of safely accommodating turning buses.

“However, in co-operation with South East Water, a temporary solution has been devised whereby Bus 13 will continue on a shorter route, between Langley Heath, Otham and Maidstone.

“To serve the outer end of the route at Hollingbourne and Eyhorne Street, a temporary shuttle bus 13A will operate to and from Maidstone town centre via an alternative direct route.

“We carefully explored the possibility to turn the 13 bus around at a safe point in Leeds away from the roadworks, but we could not come up with a suitable location, so, regretfully, Leeds will miss the bus for the duration of the closure.

“However, we’re pleased that we’ve come up with a solution which will mean that Hollingbourne residents still get a bus service in their village.

“When there have been roadworks in Leeds in the past, we have at least been able to get a bus close to the village, but the particular location of these works prevents that.”

The new temporary timetable will be available on the Nu-Venture website from Monday, July 17.

It will give Langley Heath residents the opportunity for four return trips to Maidstone on Mondays to Fridays, and three round trips for Hollingbourne villagers.

Steps are also due to be taken to prevent back lanes becoming blocked by drivers looking for alternative routes..

At a public meeting at the Great Danes near Hollingbourne on June 29, South East Water said it would also be shutting seven single-track roads near the road closure, which experience had taught often become used as rat runs whenever there is a closure on the B2163.

The closures, which will be enforced by marshals from the company, are intended to force motorists attempting to travel between the A20 and A274 to use the official diversion route, which will be via Willington Street.

South East Water needs to lay 535m of piping, at a cost of £460,000, to replace crumbling infrastructure as demand increases from new housing.