Furious residents are calling for urgent repairs two weeks after a sinkhole appeared on the main route through their village.

The void opened up in Poplar Road in Wittersham, near Tenterden, on March 22 and was quickly fenced off with plastic barriers.

But villagers say disgruntled drivers have been moving the fencing and tearing up grass verges to get past the blockage.

Cars have become stuck in the mud in narrow country lanes nearby used to avoid the closure.

Southern Water is responsible for the repairs and teams have carried out inspections of the hole, which has appeared between Lloyds Green and The Swan Inn.

Metal fencing was put up on Wednesday in a bid to stop drivers breaking the rules and secure the site, but work to fix the void is yet to start.

A 25-mile diversion has been put in place but resident Derek Harman, who has lived in the village for 55 years, says this has not been signposted.

The 83-year-old said: “Everybody is fed up. The village is on a main road between Tenterden and Rye so everything has to come through here.

“If we had an emergency in the village, there is no way the services could get in.

“People have been going up the grass verge to get around it.

“There are no signs to say the road is closed until you get to the blockage and there are no signs to tell people about the diversion.

“If it was signed properly, we wouldn't have a problem.”

Daxesh Patel, who owns Wittersham Village Store just yards from the void, says the closure has impacted his business.

“Traffic has been bad because people have been using the little country lanes,” he added.

“There has been a drop in people passing through. It is annoying but what can we do?

“They have not said how long it will take. The whole village is annoyed because it impacts us all, we will be grateful when it is fixed.”

Jeremy Smith, chairman of Wittersham Parish Council, says the void is bigger than it appears on the surface.

“The sinkhole is in the middle of the road into a double bend which is about as bad you can get,” he explained.

“The hole itself is bigger underneath the tarmac where it opens out.

“Contractors came with two specialist crews to investigate.

“Apart from those two days, and the metal fencing going up, nothing much has happened.

“Villagers are unhappy about it too because a local and unofficial diversion route is a single track with few passing spaces.

“It means the lane is now so chewed up and cars have been getting stuck in the mud.

“Easter has not been helpful, but it is not an excuse not to sort it.”

The official diversion from Tenterden takes drivers along the A28 through Rolvenden and Newenden and then on to the A268 through Peasmarsh.

Drivers then take a sharp left near Playdon onto the B2082 Inden Road through Iden and into Wittersham.

The total journey is just shy of 25 miles - adding an extra 40 minutes onto journey times.

But in a bid to find shortcuts, roads and verges in the village have been torn up as motorists have instead been using local roads with few passing places.

Resident Kate Robertson said: “It has been ridiculous, people were moving the signs, driving over the pavement and the verge on the corner is ruined.

“There was even a lorry going around it one day. The roads around us are in a dreadful state, huge potholes on all of the roads.

“The road down by Moons Green is covered in mud and is mostly single-lane traffic and some people are driving way too fast.

“People are angry at the state things are getting into.”

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “Southern Water, the local highways authority and local council, are determining the next steps forward to address the sinkhole on Poplar Road.”

The sinkhole has since been repaired and the road reopened on Tuesday, April 9.

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