Dozens of residents on a new housing estate have been told their homes are sinking and three houses are to be demolished over problems with the foundations.

The red-brick suburb was only built in 2006 but large internal and external cracks have been discovered as the properties slowly slip into the clay-rich ground.

Residents of 37 houses have been told they have subsidence issues after builders working for Taylor Wimpey failed to lay proper foundations.

The problem is so bad owners of three homes have been forced to move out while they are knocked down and rebuilt.

Resident Steve Ansell's house has to be pulled down on the Kemsley Field estate near Sittingbourne, after he bought it for £230,000.

Technical trainer Steve, 56, and wife Jayne, 53, have been rehomed in a different house on the estate while his three-bed semi is knocked down and rebuilt.

He said: "I first noticed my home had a problem when I got a new car with a panoramic sunroof.

"As I was parked in the drive, fiddling about with things, I happened to look up and saw a huge crack in the front of my house.

"That was five years ago, and we've had no end of problems ever since. First they said they could underpin the house.

"But that failed, so they tried resetting the foundations. Now that's failed, so they're going to have to knock it down and start again. It's really upsetting for me and my wife.

"In March they moved us into smaller, temporary accommodation round the corner while they re-did the foundations.

"But just as that work was meant to be completed, one of the builders told me they couldn't fix it properly, and would have to demolish my entire house.

"They initially told us we would be moving out for about six months, but now it'll be at least a year before we can return home.

"We're trapped. We bought the home for around £230,000 from new, with the aim to live there a couple of years while we find somewhere to live when we retire.

"If it had all gone to plan, we would be in our new home now, which would give us a few years of working while we made all the improvements to make it a dream retirement home. Fat chance of that happening now."

Taylor Wimpey is one of the largest British housebuilding companies, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

It officially finished construction on the site in 2010.

Another angry resident, Sally Underdown, is "sick to her back teeth" of problems with the home she shares with husband Richard, 46.

Midwife Sally, 45, bought the property in 2007 for £173,000 with her tiler husband and is waiting for a structural engineer to decide whether it needs to be demolished.

Sally said: "We've had trouble since day one, when the front door wasn't hung properly.

"Taylor Wimpey have been so unhelpful.

"We don't know what to do. We want to move, but nobody will buy a house that may be falling down, and we don't obviously don't want to live there any longer.

"It's such a shame, because it could be a lovely little estate. I know of at least 37 houses that have subsidence issues."

Residents have banded together to take legal action against the housing giant, who they claim cut corners when their subsidiary, Bryant Homes, built the properties.

Another resident, who moved to the estate last year, said: "It should have been my dream first home with my boyfriend, but it's turned into a nightmare.

"It's going to cost thousands of pounds to fix. We simply can't afford to pay it, and Taylor Wimpey won't help at all."

A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey said it would be inaccurate to describe the houses set to be demolished as "condemned".

He said: "Our customers are our top priority.

"We are aware of the issues and are working with the residents and with the National House-Building Council to resolve these matters as quickly as practicably possible."