Residents are fearing Bank Holiday “traffic chaos” this weekend after confirmation that gas works are being extended.

Bosses at SGN announced the long-running repairs in Station Road, New Romney are to be prolonged by more than two weeks beyond the initial finish date.

The works, which started on April 11, are at the traffic lights next to The Marsh Academy.

The repairs, that were orginally due to finish on April 18, are now expected to be completed until next Friday after complications were identified during the fix.

This has left residents in New Romney fearful of further traffic congestion over the Bank Holiday weekend.

One person on social media said: “Just in case you don’t already know, it seems the dreaded roadworks will now go on until May 5.

“Even more chaos over the Bank Holiday weekend.”

It comes after shop owners along the high street told KentOnline last week of the damaging effect the roadworks were having on businesses nearby.

Tina Newman and Lou Douglas, of That Pet Shop, told of the mayhem the works have been causing through the town.

“It is carnage down the avenue in the mornings, the road gets snarled up all day.

“We have had loads of customers complaining to us about it,” said Ms Newman.

SGN were first made aware of the gas leak on February 13.

Within hours, they attended the scene and placed barriers and roadwork signs around the manholes but work did not begin for weeks after.

As the works continue, frustration continues to grow amongst the residents.

“Two weeks overdue so far then. Let’s see what excuse they come up with next week,” said one person on Facebook.

Mayor of New Romney, Cllr Paul Thomas, says he understands the need for the extension and safety is a priority.

“I had a tour around the site and they explained in detail the reasons for the extension,” he said.

“We understand the frustrations for people but it is important that this gets fixed properly.

“If a good job is done now this will hopefully mean SGN won’t have to do more repairs in the future.”

In the latest update from SGN, the company explained the reasoning behind the extension.

Spokesman Dan Brown said: “Investigations found a 17-metre section of our pipe in Station Road was in too poor a condition to repair and we needed to urgently replace this part of our network instead, to ensure local properties receive a safe and reliable supply of gas for many years to come.

“This resulted in the scheduled finish of our work being extended until Friday, May 5.

“We’re pleased to report that this pipe replacement work has since been completed and our engineers are now carrying out some final repairs in Dymchurch Road.”

Temporary traffic lights will remain in operation and will be manually controlled between 7am and 7pm to manage traffic flow.

Mr Brown added: “To avoid returning at a later date and help minimise future disruption to the community, our engineers also decommissioned a nearby redundant, unmapped old pipe after it was identified last week.

“We understand roadworks can be frustrating and we'd like to thank road users, residents and businesses for your ongoing patience and understanding while we carry out this essential work to keep everyone safe and warm.”