Several drivers suffered burst tyres this morning after a hole opened up in a road in Sutton Valence.

Half a dozen commuters have reported damage to their cars after going into the 2.6 foot wide ditch, which has appeared in the south-bound carriageway of Maidstone Road.

A Kent County Council representative was sent to examine it and drivers are warned to approach the area with caution. It has now been cordoned off.

It was reportedly causing long tailbacks along the Maidstone Road.

The hole appeared near Shay Service Station, but during the morning downpour it became filled with rain.

It is understood the hole was created after temporary repairs to a utility trench failed to hold.

Heavy rain this morning filled the ditch with water and it was only after driving through the puddle that drivers realised it was an inch deep.

Among the drivers to suffer a puncture after going through the hole was Lynn Coutts from Hunton, shortly before 8am.

She told the Kent Messenger she heard a loud bang as she was driving along the road on her way to work, before discovering her tyre had burst, and repairs could cost hundreds of pounds.

She said: "I am very angry. This could cause an accident if drivers swerve to avoid it.

"The AA and the RAC have been back and forth all morning and I keep seeing drivers coming back up the road to take photographs.

"One woman was taking a picture of the hole when a white van hit a nearby road sign and it went into her. It's so dangerous."

Dr Ar Abed, orthopaedic surgeon at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, had to cancel his first surgery of the day when his Mercedes also suffered a blowout. His front left wheel was visibly bent in the impact.

The father from Bearsted said "I was taking my son to school when I felt a bump. I managed to pull over. The metal of the wheel was all bent and there was no replacement the RAC could sell me.

"In the end they took a tire off their own van and put it on mine so I could drive to the Mercedes garage.

"It is absolutely scandalous."

South East Water said the the trench had been dug in Maidstone Road as part of work to repair a communication pipe. Repair teams will return tomorrow to permanently repair the road.

Steve Andrews, head of service management at South East Water, said: “We work hard to ensure that any work we undertake to a carriageway is to the highest standards and we are sorry to any motorist who experiences damage to their vehicle as a result.”

Any motorists who have suffered damage to their vehicle as part of work the company has undertaken should call South East Water on 0333 000 1100 and ask for the isurance caims department.