A key route through Malling will be closed for up to three days after a burst water main caused the road to collapse.

The A227 Ightham Road is currently closed between Bewley Lane and High Cross Road near Borough Green due to the large hole.

South East Water and Clancy Docwra are at the scene, with the closure expected to last for up to three days.

Don Knight, South East Water Distribution Manager, said: “Keeping the public and our employees safe is our top priority and this is why the road closure is needed.

"At this stage we do not know when the road will reopen but we are working hard to fix the burst and restore the road as quickly as possible.

"The repairs will be more complicated and take longer than usual as part of the road has collapsed and a tree has fallen into the hole.

“We are very sorry to motorists and our customers for the inconvenience that this is causing.”

South East Water was alerted to the problem at 4.30pm yesterday after the water supply to 10 properties was affected, a problem that was resolved within six hours.

Mr Knight said: “While we were able to get water back to our customers quickly it took us until the early hours of this morning to find the location of the burst.

“Detecting a leak is not always an easy task and in this instance the damaged section of pipe was more than one kilometre away from the properties affected by it. This meant our technician had to walk the route of the pipeline through the night and along the road to find signs of leaking water.

“It is a difficult job to do and the team works hard 24 hours a day to keep tap water flowing.”

Diversions are currently in place.