A six-month road closure has been branded “a nightmare” by residents, just three weeks in.

South East Water (SEW) has shut the B2163, Upper Street, through Leeds and Langley, outside Maidstone while it lays 535m of piping, at a cost of £460,000.

But locals claimed the experiment has "backfired," leaving rural communities at the mercy of congested highways and dangerous drivers.

SEW officials called a public meeting at a church in Leeds to gauge how the closure of seven additional back roads is affecting people's lives, attended by 120 people.

They were met with a barrage of criticisms which included bins not being collected, a gate marshal allegedly urinating into a hedge, damage to property and HGVs ignoring diversion signs.

The single-track lanes were shut to prevent rat-running and force traffic along to Willington Street as the main diversion, connecting the A20 and A274.

But it was from residents and businesses in Otham and Chegworth that SEW and Kent County Council's (KCC) officers felt the full force of the fury.

The B2163 is a daily carrier for thousands of cars, vans and lorries linking the two major A roads in south-east Maidstone.

As feared, the road closures have forced unwanted traffic through Chegworth and Otham trying to avoid the long diversion via Willington Street.

Speaker after speaker from those areas pleaded for action to prevent the massive increase in vehicle volumes since July 24 and the dangers they pose.

Turkey farmer David Betts, of Greenhill Farm in Otham, said he spent half an hour to travel half a mile because of congestion.

Mr Betts stormed: "This whole plan has backfired and caused a total nightmare for people in Otham Lane and Otham Street.

"They may have got on with the water main work but they should have left the back roads open as the traffic would eventually dissipate along them. What we've got now is gridlock."

Alan Taylor, 63, foreman at Chantler Court Farm, warned there are huge problems ahead in the coming weeks when large machinery will be used to harvest crops.

He said: "It is ridiculous. It took me 35 minutes on Saturday to get out of the farm to get to the A20. How will all the local farms cope during harvest? How can my business function with that amount of traffic on the road?

"How will combine harvesters and farm vehicles get to where they need to be?"

Residents in Chegworth said cars were reaching speeds of 60mph and many vehicles are too big for the single lane. The Lenham Road is also becoming dangerous, they added.

County cllr Shellina Prendergast suggested temporary traffic lights could be installed in Chegworth Road to regulate traffic flows.

SEW officials accepted the use of agency marshals at the ends of each blocked road has not worked effectively. One was allegedly seen urinating into a hedge.

Promising changes, SEW delivery manager, Chris Love, told the meeting at St Nicholas: "I accept they are not doing a brilliant job."

Another public meeting is planned for September 14, two weeks after the schools return.

Tracie Carlsund, of Forge Lane, Leeds, warned police should be drafted when the new school year starts "because they're going to be needed".

County cllr for Leeds, Gary Cooke, echoed one resident's claim a Leeds-Langley by-pass is needed more than ever.

Mr Love agreed: "The roads are at over-capacity...Maidstone does need a by-pass."

Cllr Cooke doubted Willington Street's capacity to cope with the extra traffic volumes.

KCC's head of highways, Andrew Loosemore, rejected the idea of a one-way system arguing it would increase speeds and lead to head-on collisions.

The authority is powerless to enforce "moving traffic violations", which is the responsibility of the police, the meeting was told.

Residents in Caring Road, which runs from Caring Lane to Otham Lane, complained they had been effectively imprisoned by cars using the tiny back road.

The meeting was told Burgess Hall Drive is being used by all kinds of vehicles, including HGVs, as a turning loop when they realise Upper Street, Leeds, is closed, causing damage to cars and property.

SEW said locals will be issued with tax disc style windscreen permits with a large letter 'R' so that they will automatically be allowed access by the marshals and identify those who have no business to be in a shut section.

SEW is spending £465,000 to lay the replacements for the existing crumbling, burst-prone pipes which will serve Leeds' new housing developments.

The work is currently on schedule and the utility company said the January 2024 finish was a "worst case" prediction.

The utility firm's sub-contractor, Clancy, has 15 staff on site each day and regular checks are made by a supervisor to ensure the closures are working.

The boss of Leeds Castle hit out at the "crackers" closure last month, saying shutting the road during its peak summer months could leave the tourist attraction in the red.

Residents also feared they could lose their jobs in queues caused by the disruption.

SEW under law only had to shut the B2163 but bosses felt a duty to respond to concerns about rat-running on the back roads and public safety. It is the first time SEW has tried a mass closure in this way.

Simon Mullan, head of retail household, pledged to take feedback away and make any amendments public by August 18.

The road closure programme was devised in close consultation with KCC's Kent Highways department. The highways cabinet member, Cllr David Brazier attended the meeting.

The next public meeting on September 14 takes place at St Nicholas church in Leeds at 6pm.