A burst water main forced the closure of New Street in Sandwich yesterday afternoon.

Kent County Council maintenance work could go on until Tuesday, July 7, while the pipe leak is fixed by Southern Water.

However, residents say there was work on the road until 10pm last night and it has now fully re-opened.

The water flooded into the road, at around 7.30am yesterday, at the junction of Strand Street and New Street, near to the Hop and Huffkin.

A statement from Southern Water said: "A crew has been dispatched to fix a burst water main in New Street.

"We need to close the road to carry out the repair and we apologise for any disruption this may cause.

"However, we can reassure customers that we will do our utmost to re-open it as soon as possible."

The water-log has caused cracks in the road itself, with many residents posting on Facebook that the road was "sinking".

Ian Linstead, owner of the Hop and Huffkin, said: "It's causing problems with traffic as the road is subsiding as it fills with water. Cars can get through but it's splashing water all over the place and causing a mess."

Stagecoach buses have been affected by the closure, including services 13, 13A, 14, 14A, 87, 88, 88A.

The travel company tweeted yesterday that services were unable to serve the Guildhall.

It said: "All of our buses will divert via St Barts Road and Moat Sole and use the bus stop in New Street just past the Guildhall (stop C). We will revert to normal operations as soon as the road re-opens."

KCC has said the severity of this is classed as high.