Motorists will suffer two more months of delays while gas engineers carry out repairs to a busy road in Maidstone.

South Park Road has been closed to Shepway-bound traffic between the junction with Plains Avenue and Park Way from Tuesday, March 29.

The closure is to allow gas firm SGN to replace an old metal main with new plastic pipes. It has been causing long delays around the town.

A spokesman for the firm said: "This is a complex engineering project and to ensure everyone's safety we need to temporarily close the road."

Drivers will be diverted via Park Way, Loose Road and Plains Avenue. The route adds half a mile onto journeys.

Maidstone-bound traffic is able to use the road as normal.

Reports on social media suggest some drivers have been ignoring the closure and driving down the closed road.

Residents say this causes more delays and causes a safety risk to drivers who are using the correct side of the road.

Arriva's 85 bus is also diverted, leaving customers on South Park Road without a service for three months.

A spokesman for the bus company said: "We're affected by traffic as much as everyone else is. Our depot is close to the roadworks and it can take our drivers a long time to and from work.

"Roadworks can delay services around the whole of the town."

Work will continue until at least June 13.

There are also delays reported for motorists in London Road, Allington, near Beaver Road where temporary traffic lights are in place while a new housing development is being built.