Work to lower an historic church wall to stop it getting bashed by passing HGVs has been completed.

The parochial church council at St Mary the Virgin Church in Goudhurst took the decision to lower an eight-metre section of the wall around the churchyard by half a metre, in the hope that trailers on HGVs swinging around a tight bend on A262 would now pass above the wall without hitting it.

The decision was made after repeated incidents of damage to the Grade I listed wall, built in 1768.

It took the church three and half years to secure the necessary planning consents.

It remains to be seen whether the lowered wall will be enough to prevent any future damage, but the scheme has not pleased everyone.

Sarah Power, who lives on the opposite side of the road, said: “It sticks out like a sore thumb!”

Sadly the lowered wall has not solved the more general problem of what happens when two large vehicles travelling in opposite directions meet on the tight bend.

Gridlocked ensues until one or other reverses. The clashes cause frequent tailbacks through the village.

Goudhurst Parish Council has previously petitioned KCC, the highways authority, to decommission the road from an A-road status to be B-road, which would enable it to impose some weight or length restrictions on the traffic.

But KCC has declined to do so, saying there is no other local route such heavy traffic could take.