Water main replacement works are causing serious disruption to villagers – that could go on for five months.

South East Water is replacing the main in Ulcombe Hill near Maidstone and has closed the road to all traffic.

Villagers have spoken of being "cut off" and have voiced concerns about access by emergency vehicles to the community of around 700 residents if needed.

Already Nu Venture has had to cancel most of its bus services to Ulcombe and Grafty Green.

The No 59 service that usually starts from Grafty Green and runs through Ulcombe to Maidstone is now starting from Kingwood Village Hall.

Company boss Norman Kemp said: "Ulcombe Hill is a steep and narrow road, but nevertheless it is the only road in the area capable of taking a bus."

The water works which started on August 15 are due to run until January 27.

KCC school buses have also been affected.

A spokesman said: “The closure is impacting on three bus services – to Lenham and to Cornwallis schools, all of which have had to divert from their usual routes.

"We are trying to coordinate shuttle buses for students affected and are negotiating with South East Water about covering the extra costs involved.”

The official diversion route is via Lenham Road, Chartway Street, North Street, Headcorn Road, Maidstone Road, Kings Road, Ulcombe Road, Tilden Road, Headcorn Road and back to The Street.

One Ulcombe resident, who asked not to be named, said: "I'm appalled it should take South East Water five months to dig a 1km trench to lay a pipe. It's ridiculous.

"The parallel routes like Windmill Hill and Knowle Hill are single-track roads with few passing places that just get clogged up."

"What would happen if an emergency vehicle were needed?"

He said: "The alternative is to go via Lenham or Platts Heath, that's a five-mile diversion adding half an hour to a journey. It doesn't help that there are also roadworks in Sutton Valence causing long delays.

"The chief concern is what would happen if an emergency vehicle were needed here in a hurry?"

Ulcombe Parish Council said: "The closure of Ulcombe Hill will cause significant disruption to the residents and businesses over the course of the next five months.

"In villages such as ours where there are few access roads the closure of one of the main routes in and out of the village inevitably has knock-on impacts to the community.

"However, the road closure is for necessary infrastructure work to replace the water main serving the village and needs to be done in order to ensure a reliable and safe water supply well into the future."

The council added: "Ulcombe Hill is simply too narrow for the work to be done alongside it being open to traffic.

"The No 59 bus service has been significantly impacted with a temporary timetable that serves Ulcombe directly only two days a week and only one service to and from the village on these days.

"Kent County Council voted in July to withdraw all subsidised funding from the No 59 route and therefore it is highly unlikely that this route will exist from October onwards in any case."

Nu Venture is managing to provide a bus service to Grafty Green and Ulcombe on two days a week – Monday and Wednesday – by running along the A274, but on these days the service is having to miss out Kingwood and Warmlake Corner instead.

A revised timetable is available from the Nu-Venture website.

Jeremy Dufour, South East Water’s project manager, said: "We are really sorry for any inconvenience caused by our vital, £350,000 project to protect water supplies in the Ulcombe area.

“Projects like this require careful planning and our team has been working with Kent County Council and local bus operators to ensure services can be maintained.

“Ulcombe Road is closed to passing traffic to protect the public as well as our workforce.

“Alternative bus routes and times are in place while feeder buses have been made available to take school children to alternative pick up and drop off points for the school bus network.

“More information on alternative bus routes and timetables can be found on our dedicated project website."

He said: " As well as working with bus operators, emergency services are made aware of our plans so alternative routes can be planned ahead of time in case of an emergency."