Work has begun at Maidstone's Mote Park to keep the town safe from flooding which could "endanger lives".

Improvements are being made to parts of the lake, including the dam and spillway, to protect the area from being submerged in up to 12 feet of water.

If the dam were to fail, the water could "swell rapidly over 40 acres of land", and would see Turkey Mill and the surrounding areas under water, damaging homes and businesses, according to Maidstone Borough Council.

It comes after 300 of the park's 54,000 trees were felled earlier this year to make way for the work, which started yesterday and is due to finish by December.

Some parts of the 450-acre site may be closed to visitors during this time.

Alongside the dam and spillway, the sluice gates and boathouse have also been highlighted as needing refurbishments, and the capacity of the overspill of the lake will be increased, alongside the construction of a ‘wave wall’ and a short section of embankment.

These changes, costing £1.9 million in total, will hopefully control the transfer of flow across the dam and ensure it does not fail during extreme flooding.

Leader of the council, Martin Cox, said: "We are pleased to be able to continue the next phase of these essential works which were always planned to take place now.

"We are assured by the contractor that all people on their site will operate within the Government Covid-19 site operating procedures.

"There will be some disruption around the park and lake during the works, particularly around the boathouse lakeside where large machinery will need to have access, however we are doing all we can to keep this to a minimum.

He added: "Mote Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the country and we are very lucky to have it in our borough. We are doing everything we can to maintain and preserve it for many generations to come."

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone