A councillor fears leaks in one town, which could affect thousands of residents, are being ignored because of ongoing water problems elsewhere in the county.

West Malling parish councillor David Thompson fears problems in Tunbridge Wells and Thanet are distracting from potentially serious mains leaks in Malling.

It comes as South East Water says there has been a 300 per cent increase in the number of bursts than normal both on its supply pipes and on customers’ pipes across Kent and Sussex with around 15,000 homes and businesses without water or with low pressure.

Just last week the company found 463 complex leaks in its network.

On Monday the company saw an unprecedented demand for water which for the second day running increased by more than 100 million litres to over 620 million litres - the equivalent of adding almost three towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne to its network overnight.

He says a leak in Police Station Road was reported on December 11 but hasn't been fixed due to major problems elsewhere.

Mr Thompson fears that because some properties are at a lower level than the road, hundreds could be left unable to access their homes and the road could collapse.

"They need to take a serious look at their winter preparedness..."

He also believes thousands could be affected if the mains leak continues and affects more in the area.

He said: "Leaks across the county have left a number of people without water just four days before Christmas.

"Yet the poor response in resolving emerging problems from South East Water means that, without urgent action, many more could be filling up their Christmas dinner saucepans from bottled water stations.

"The situation is simply unacceptable and I will continue to make the case relentlessly on behalf of local residents.

"South East Water needs to deploy extra resources to fix the most serious leaks, acquiring extra short-term staff to help if necessary and working with Kent County Council to secure emergency road closures where needed.

"Looking ahead, they need to take a serious look at their winter preparedness and resilience planning to make sure that this situation does not continue into the New Year. "

The Malling Conservatives chairman fears if the problem isn't solved it will exacerbate things across Kent, including adding unneeded pressure on those without water and forcing more water stations to be opened.

There have been major problems in Tunbridge Wells since the summer heatwave, with many homes without water for the past week after water pipes froze and burst while thawing out.

Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark says there is "no end in sight" and demanded that people and businesses affected should be given "proper compensation" as soon as possible.

In Thanet around 20,000 homes were left without water for more than 24 hours after a pipe burst.

Tensions rose as residents were left in "gridlock" queueing for bottled supplies.

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay said: "As Thanet water returns, I’m disgusted that a resident took anger out on Southern Water by banging on my constituency office door yesterday and shouting at a team member, leaving her fearful of leaving the office.

"I don’t control the [water] company. Direct your anger at them, not my staff."

South East Water has been approached for comment.