Drivers moving safety barriers to get around a road closure have been caught on camera.

The restrictions around gas works in Church Road, Murston, were being ignored by some motorists looking to shave time off their journey.

In CCTV footage – taken at 6.15am on Thursday, November 9 – a man in an orange high-viz jacket can be seen removing the barriers before driving his car over a ditch that SGN workers were using to access gas pipes running into Goldilocks Nursery.

At the time, there were visible road closure signs at both ends of the works. One lane is partially open now, with two-way traffic lights controlling the flow of vehicles.

The footage has raised the issue of the danger of ignoring road closed signs, as well as damaging any fresh repairs and possibly increasing the length of time works take when jobs have to be done again.

Cllr James Hall, who represents Murston at Swale council, said people who did this sort of thing were “risking lives”.

The Murston resident added: “People need to stop taking the barriers away from the works and driving over it as although the risk at this point is minimal, who’s to say that it's not going to get any worse?

“The tarmac has already been damaged and has fallen into the pit where SGN is fixing the gas pipes.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to take to finish but people driving over it isn’t going to help.”

Before the road was partially re-opened, some people had raised concerns about emergency vehicles getting through.

Glen Wheeler, who lives in Thistle Walk, said he was worried “someone could end up dying” because emergency services would not be able to get to those living in Sunny Bank while Church Road – their only route into the estate – was closed.

The other way into Sunny Bank is through 6ft width restrictions, to stop large vehicles using the road.

The 68-year-old added: “It’s so important that these works are finished quickly so that we can get access to emergency vehicles which can’t get through the width restrictions.

“Someone could end up dying if this goes on longer.”

The gas company said it was “working as quickly and safely as possible to complete their work”.

The spokesperson added: “We’ve been working to make repairs to our gas network in the road.

“Repairs to one of our gas pipes which feeds Goldilocks Nursery was prioritised, as it required a new pipe being laid across the road to reconnect their supply.

“This work is now complete and we began reinstating the road surface on Friday, November 10.

“Work is continuing on a second section of our network further down the road, and two-way temporary traffic lights are now in place.”

Meanwhile, Murston residents Lisa and Sue, who did not want their full names to be used for fear of repercussions, say drivers beeped at them while they were putting the barriers back up.

Lisa said she understood people's frustration as the road closure was adding to the “nightmare traffic” on the Eurolink industrial estate.

She added: “All these road works in Sittingbourne aren’t right as it really affects us residents. It took me one hour to drive just four miles today.”

KentOnline spoke to drivers in the traffic at 5pm last Thursday. One van driver said it had taken him 45 minutes to drive 200 metres from Dolphin Road to Cremers Road.

A delivery driver added that the traffic had been a “daily nightmare” as he was spending hours stuck in traffic on the Eurolink partly down to the Church Lane road closure.