A £390 million project to upgrade water pipes across Kent and the south east is gathering pace.

A total of 48km of Victorian old cast iron pipelines have been replaced with state-of-the-art plastic ones that have a longer lifespan.

South East Water is carrying out the five-year programme to keep up with increasing demand among its 2.1 million customers and ensure they have safe access to clean water.

Other key projects included the £117,000 upgrade of a 500m long section of water main in High Street, Pembury and a £65,000 revamp of 151 metres of water main in Middle Row and Beckett Street, Faversham.

Schemes in the pipeline this year include a £110,000 programme to upgrade 750m of water main in Pluckley.

Desmond Brown, head of engineering at South East Water, said: “Our engineers and contractors have worked extremely hard over the past 12 months upgrading the equivalent length of 3,200 double decker buses which is a fantastic amount.”