A burst pipe has finally been fixed after days of water spilling out onto a road in the centre of a village.

The Street, in Lynsted, near Sittingbourne, had water running down it "like a river".

The problems started on Monday, August 15 – only a few days after a drought was officially declared in Kent following the driest summer for 50 years.

Pictures taken by Cllr Mike Whiting show water running down the road, near The Black Lion pub.

Commenting earlier this week, he said: “Residents are bewildered at the lack of action by South East Water, not just in Lynsted but in various other sites in the Teynham and Lynsted area.

“At a time of drought, when the company is imposing hosepipe bans, I would have thought getting its own house in order would have been it’s number one priority."

Southern Water is responsible for drainage and South East Water provides the supply of water in the area.

Cllr Julien Speed, chairman of Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council, on Wednesday, said: “Residents reported this leak at least 10 days ago, but nothing has been done.

"It starts opposite the Black Lion pub and runs down The Street like a river towards The Vallance.

“We already have major issues with flooding in this part of Lynsted. In heavy rain, several houses in The Street get flooded."

He added: “Southern Water has acknowledged that the local pumping station requires a complete overhaul, however they keep telling us they have no funding to carry out these necessary works.

“The matter has been rumbling on for three years without Southern Water taking any action at all. It’s totally unacceptable."

Other leaks in the area are still ongoing – they include one in Lynsted Lane and London Road in Teynham.

Adam Newbury, distribution manager at South East Water told KentOnline that technicians had been scheduled to carry out the repair on Wednesday.

He said: “We’d like to thank local residents for reporting a leaking water pipe in The Street, Lynsted.

“As a consequence of very dry ground conditions and the resulting earth movement, we have seen a 50% increase in bursts along our 9,000 miles of mains across the south east.

“Repairs are prioritised based on the impact to customers and the amount of water leaking.

“Because water is dense, our network operates under immense pressure and some leakage is inevitable.

"Tackling leaks is a long term challenge and one that the industry has been making good progress on.”

It has been reported that the leak has been fixed – however there is now a large hole in the road which is fenced off and temporary traffic lights, but they are not yet in use.