Motorists heading through Marden are facing a 26-mile diversion after a gas leak closed a road this week.

Temporary traffic lights were installed on the A229 Staplehurst Road, near Maidstone Road, on Tuesday for SGN to carry out repairs.

The road was shut yesterday morning, causing delays on roads through Marden.

With the road expected to remain shut until Tuesday, January 22, Kent County Council has updated its diversion route.

The route takes motorists on a 45 minute diversion, stretching across roughly 26 miles.

Starting along the A229 towards Cranbrook motorists then take the A226 through Sissinghurst toward Biddenden, where the route then runs through Headcorn, Chart Sutton and Sutton Valence.

It then loops back on itself at Linton Hill, which meets Staplehurst Road.

Motorists heading in the opposite direction simply carry out the diversion in reverse order.

During Wednesday's closure, Marden was blighted by traffic, with lorries and cars blocking Marden Road.

SGN expects to have gas repairs finished today.

A spokesperson from SGN said: "We will then move on to restoring the road surface at which point we can reopen the road under temporary two-way traffic lights.

"We understand this is major route and so will be working hard through the night to complete our repairs as soon as possible."