After years of flooding, an underpass is set to be filled in as part of a £12million town centre improvement project.

The subway near the Instone Road and Lowfield Street junction in Dartford often floods when there has been periods of heavy or persistent rain making it unusable.

It is also often hit by littering and is a hotspot for dumping trolleys, according to residents.

Pictures from earlier last month showed three shopping trolleys, an office chair and general litter sitting in a few inches of water at the underpass.

Ward councillor Chris Shippam (Con) says the flooding is due to problems with the pump, which is the responsibility of Kent County Council (KCC).

He said it had been mistakenly disconnected or removed when the lamppost it is in was replaced a few years ago as contractors were not made aware of its existence.

Cllr Shippam said: "This subway has been a problem for some time now. It does flood on occasion when there is persistent or very heavy rain. This is because of the pump being unable to cope.

"Myself and [fellow ward councillor] Richard have been telling KCC every time it floods and they tend to it, sometimes very quickly, other times not so quickly.

"When the regeneration and upgrading of the area was first mooted, we asked for the issue to be resolved."

The subway has now been included as part of the £12millon Dartford town centre regeneration project which aims to make the centre cleaner, safer and more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly.

As part of this, changes are being made to the Instone Road and Lowfield Street junction to maintain accessibility to the town centre.

This phase of the scheme will introduce technology to manage queuing, link the junctions and improve pedestrian and cycle flows.

Fellow ward councillor Richard Wells (Con) said: "The good news is that this area is now part of the latest phase of the town centre regeneration programme.

"As part of that, the subway will be filled in and improved crossing points added. Work is under way now on this phase."

A Dartford council spokesman confirmed work to improve the junction began earlier this month and is expected to finish by the end of the year.

They added: "The design of the scheme has specifically sought to provide alternative crossings to replace the subway which due to flooding is often unusable and closed. It is set to be filled in.

"It will be replaced with three signalled crossings on Instone Road and Lowfield Street so pedestrians will be able to cross safely when approaching the junction from any direction.

"Overnight closures will take place in the autumn to improve the carriageway and footpaths are in the process of being improved as part of the works."

The first phase to improve Market Street and the High Street had already been completed yet residents had branded it a "shambles" and "a bit of a disgrace".

At the time, a council spokesman said: "Like many big projects, there may be phases during the building when things look less than attractive but when it is all complete and our contractors finally move out, we will have new public spaces fit for the future."

The next two phases of the project for Hythe Street, Spital Street, Westgate Road and Hythe Road junction and Prospect Place and Kent Road junction are still being designed.