Work to replace more than a mile of water pipe which was prone to bursting has been completed, a month ahead of schedule.

South East Water finished the work on Monday, June 3, calling an end to closures in sections of Pond Farm Road and Wises Lane, Borden, during the six-month project.

Construction workers began replacing the cast iron pipes, dating back to the 1950s, in January and were due to finish by early-July.

Although the road closures were needed for safety reasons, engineers reopened the route last month for the Sittingbourne 10k race.

South East Water project manager, Jeremy Dufour, said: "Our contractors, Clancy Docwra, have worked extremely hard to complete the £520,000 water main replacement project well ahead of schedule.

"By replacing the old main with modern pipes designed to last a lifetime, we’re helping to avoid the disruption caused by burst pipes in the future.

"We’ve also future-proofed our network by increasing the size of the pipes, adding more flexibility to our network.

"The new water main is now in use, supplying Borden residents with top quality crystal-clear tap water."

Contractors also welcomed Borden and Grove Park members of Swale council, Cllr Mike Baldock (Swale Ind) and Cllr Nicholas Hampshire, to the site for a tour in April.

Cllr Mike Baldock said: "Many of my ward members were understandably concerned about this project after various other utility companies have carried out work in the village in the past.

"I am really pleased to say this project has been handled well, with excellent communications and a ready response to any queries that arose."

The work formed part of the firm's £424million investment in the network between 2015 and 2020.

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