People who have booked booster jabs are being caught in traffic for up to an hour because of delayed roadworks near a medical centre.

Part of the Old Thanet Way in Whitstable is shut so South East Water engineers can carry out urgent repair works to a burst water pipe.

The road was closed on November 25 between the Long Reach roundabout and the entrance to the Prospect Retail Park, preventing access to the Estuary View Medical Centre from the direction of Herne Bay.

Patients instead have to drive down the new Thanet Way, come off at Yorkletts and approach from the Faversham side.

Kent County Council originally said the route would be shut until November 29 - but the road has remained closed throughout the week.

However, South East Water has announced it will be reopening the route this evening to avoid weekend congestion, before more work takes place on Monday and Tuesday.

Patients travelling from the Borstal Hill direction towards the Estuary View Medical Centre have been caught in the delays.

A post shared on Facebook by the Whitstable Medical Practice, which runs Estuary View, says: "We would like to make all patients aware of the problems that the Thanet Way road closure is causing.

"This is totally outside of our control and is disrupting all of the services that we offer patients.

"We have been continually chasing Kent County Council Highways with zero success."

The post advices patients with an appointment to allow extra time for their journeys and to make sure they attend as they have no capacity to re-book.

Cllr Ashley Clark (Con) has concerns about the disruption the repair works are causing.

"We have a national urgency with boosters and all the rest of it and they have totally ignored that and have done nothing to make things any easier or not as bad as what they are," he said.

He said residents have been stuck in queues for up to an hour as they try to navigate to the medical centre.

"Nothing has been done and they have allowed this to continue," he said.

"If you want to go to Estuary View, you can’t because they have blocked it off. The only way to get there is to take a long route round via the Thanet Way and come off at Yorkletts and get on that way.

"But then you come in with all the other traffic that wants to come off at Whitstable so you end up with huge queues, particularly at the weekend because people still want to head here - God knows why.

"The other route is Church Lane, and we have pointed out for years the problems because there is a 200-metre single track canyon with very inadequate passing spaces.

"What happens is traffic comes off the Thanet Way and sees queues ahead of them, so they try to get down Church Lane.

"But there is traffic coming in the other direction trying to get up to the medical centre."

Regional works delivery manager for South East Water Ash McFaite says the firm is sorry for any disruption caused by the repairs to the burst 12-inch diameter water main.

“To help reduce congestion over the weekend we will be reopening the road from this evening," he said.

“We are returning to the area from 7.30pm Monday, December 6, to complete the reinstatement of the road surface.

“While we carry out the reinstatement overnight on Monday, the Borstal Hill junction of the roundabout will be closed for the safety of pedestrians and our workforce until 6am Tuesday.

“From Tuesday morning, we will reopen the roundabout and will be operating under a lane closure eastbound on Thanet Way.

“A diversion route, as agreed with Kent Highways, will be put in place and clearly signposted for the duration of the closure.

“We anticipate the lane closure will be lifted, with all repair work complete by Tuesday evening.

“I am sorry for any disruption this work has caused and I’d like to thank the local community and road users for their patience while we carry out this essential repair to the road surface."

He added customers can keep up to date on work going in their area using our interactive map here.