Kent County Council has been slammed for a lack of maintenance after ongoing problems with Sandwich Toll Bridge have stopped river users from leaving the town.

The small single lane swing bridge over the River Stour was unable to open for two months due to hydraulic and control issues.

For married couple of 57 years, John and Dorothy Haynes, who live on-board cabin cruiser Letitia Jean, it meant they had been stuck on The Quay for three weeks unable to take up their booked mooring in Dover until Monday.

Pressure from boat owners and Sandwich Port and Haven Commission (SPHC) saw engineers open the bridge on Monday allowing the couple’s 25 tonne vessel to pass through.

But while KCC has apologised for the inconvenience, it says more work is still required and further interruptions in service cannot be ruled out.

SPHC says the authority has not been properly maintaining the bridge and is encouraging those affected to make a claim for any expenses incurred.

Commissioner Nicholas Gray said: “All parties know that river traffic has absolute precedence over road traffic and the bridge should be capable of being opened at any time on demand from vessels wishing to transit.

“This is quite intolerable and the Commissioners consider that it results from a lack of proper maintenance by KCC over the past few years.

“We appreciate that the mechanism to operate the bridge is very old but that is not a reason to have allowed the present situation to have developed.

“Many boat owners on the river are going to suffer considerable inconvenience as a result of this and they should consider making a claim against KCC.

“SPHC will do all it can within its powers to try to get the bridge operating again as soon as possible and will keep river users informed of progress.”

Boat owners had been promised the bridge would be back to working order by Monday, February 18.

Mr Haynes, 77, and his wife had packed up their belongings such as ornaments and hired a pilot to help navigate them out of Sandwich only to find it had not been fixed.

The former Whitstable RNLI volunteer said: “Never in the 20 years we’ve been on the boat have we experienced this.

“The pressure was starting to get to me and my wife.”

A Kent County Council spokesman said: “The bridge has now been reopened to river users.

“However, Kent County Council is continuing to investigate the recent problems which have prevented the bridge from opening.

“It is anticipated that further works will be required and, regrettably, due to the intermittent nature of the faults, delays and further interruptions in service cannot be ruled out over the next few weeks.

“Kent County Council apologises for any inconvenience during the period it has not been possible to open the bridge to river users.”

Have you been affected by the bridge closure? Email mercurynews@thekmgroup.co.uk