A water leak has caused a “moat” to appear around a block of flats.

Residents in Butchers Lane, in Kings Hill near West Malling first noticed the water coming from a manhole cover on the pavement a month ago.

Richard Glass said it only started as a trickle, but weeks of neglect has caused the issue to grow.

The 65-year-old said: “When we first reported it, a man came out a day later and sprayed the lid blue. Since then, no one has been out to see it.

“It has been getting worse and the water fills up outside our front door.

“When there’s a storm water collects a bit out here anyway so to add this to it worries me.”

A yellow weather warning was in place from the Met Office across Kent yesterday (September 23) and as the weather begins to change, Richard fears this will add to the water already stagnating in the foot of the entranceway.

The father of one is worried about the accessibility into the building as some of his neighbours have mobility issues.

He continued: “The lady next door to me isn’t too good on her feet and I worry how this is affecting her.

“I’ve put a crate down so she can walk across that to get out but even that is rotting away.

Richard has been on the phone with South East Water multiple times in hopes of getting it sorted.

He was told the issue was scheduled to be looked at on September 18 but as of yesterday (September 23), the leak is still going.

Richard said: “It’s disgusting and a waste of water, we use as little as we can to save water and keep our bills down, and then they do things like this.”

South East Water’s regional leakage manager, Greg Groombridge said: “Our leakage team has investigated the leak on Butcher’s Lane and it is currently scheduled to be repaired on September 24.

“This date has been brought forward following reports of the leak getting worse.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused to the community and we understand that seeing any water lost can be frustrating.

“Fixing leaks and saving water are top priorities for us and we thank residents who report leaks to us.

“A range of factors come into planning a repair which can impact how long a leak takes to be fixed after it’s been reported. These include the location of the leak, the traffic management required, environmental considerations, other nearby utilities, and the risk of customers going without a water supply.

“Clearly if there is an emergency leak or burst affecting drinking water supplies, these are prioritised.

“We spend around £40 million a year on finding and fixing leaks across the network and are committed to investing further to reduce the amount of water lost to leaks by half by 2050.”