A family that reported a leak running a quarter of a mile down their road nearly five months ago are still waiting for it to be repaired. <br /><br />The fed-up Townsend family from the village of Shottenden in Kent, say they even had a hosepipe ban over the summer whilst water ran down their road.<br /><br />They had been planning to sell their home next year but now fear footing the bill for the damage the leak has caused.<br /><br />They also worry that, with winter fast approaching, the unfixed leak could become an 'ice rink' and see someone suffer a serious accident. <br /><br />And though South East Water have been to look at the leak, they are still yet to have stemmed the flow. <br /><br />David and Jacqui Townsend complain the leak - which they first reported at the end of May has caused them misery and frustration.<br /><br />Despite their constant complaints to South East Water, their driveway has been severely damaged as the gravel is flushed away by the torrent of flowing water. <br /><br />Mrs Townsend, 52, says the situation has become a 'joke', saying: “We were put on a hosepipe ban when we had a river running outside. <br /><br />“They said we couldn't water our garden but it’s alright because we could have just diverted the stream onto it."<br /><br />Mr Townsend estimates that the water runs for a quarter of a mile down their street in rural Kent before ending in a large pool at a nearby farm. <br /><br />“If we had the hose on they would have threatened to fine us," the 60-year-old said. <br /><br />“They really need to sort it before it gets colder because you will get more potholes and damage – there will be an accident. <br /><br />“It could certainly cause injury in the winter. Then it’s not just unsightly it’s dangerous – there’s no doubt about that."<br /><br />His wife agreed, saying the road would become 'lethal' once temperatures fall below zero. <br /><br />Mrs Townsend also worries for her three sons - two of whom have recently started driving with the third currently learning. <br /><br />“We will literally have an ice rink out there,” she said.<br /><br />“It will be lethal because it's a straight stretch of road which is just covered in standing water. <br /><br />"You can see where it straightens out here, so people just put their foot down.<br /><br />“I worry about my children but people who don’t know about it and speed along will be worse off. <br /><br />"Cyclists and walkers use it, too."<br /><br />This is not the first time burst pipes have disrupted residents living on Shottenden Road, either. <br /><br />Mrs Townsend claims to have reported more than 200 leaks in the 25 years the family has lived there.
