Residents feel like they are “living in a prison” after roadworks have been abandoned.

Years after moving into a newly-built housing estate in Maidstone, Kent, the locals are still forced to negotiate stretches of potholes and inadequate drainage as roadworks have been left unfinished.

Fran Carver is among a growing number of residents fed up with the state of the development and claims that the poor drainage means the “road is like a swimming pool when it rains”.

She said: “We moved in on February 29, 2020 but the road still remains unfinished.

“And we are constantly being fobbed off by Taylor Wimpey as to when the work will be completed.”

She added: “The first people moved in here eight years ago, so I really feel that this is unacceptable.

“We have already had to replace two tyres this year due to the poor state of the road and the debris strewn about.”

Mrs Carver wrote to Taylor Wimpey, the construction company in charge of the roadworks, telling them she and her neighbours were “at the end of our tethers” over the lack of information about the completion of the development.

Mrs Carver added: “The road is like a swimming pool when it rains.

“The drainage system is inadequate, and the road becomes flooded, making it difficult to drive through.

“This is a serious safety hazard. My husband had to fill in one area around the drains himself with sharp sand just to stop that area flooding.

“Their workmanship is of such poor quality. The road surface is uneven, and there are numerous potholes.

“This is not only unsightly but also dangerous.”

Her neighbour, Ronnie McKeown, has experienced even worse difficulties.

The 68-year-old uses a wheelchair as he has had one leg amputated.

He said: “Three times I’ve fallen out of my wheelchair because of the uneven camber of the road.

“It’s like living in a prison here – I look out and all I see is railings.”

His wife Pauline McKeown added: “Taylor Wimpey promised us the earth. They said it would be such a beautiful place to live. What we’ve got is not what we signed up for.”

The couple said that the response from Taylor Wimpey to their complaints had been less than encouraging.

Mr McKeown said: “There is no street lighting here and last winter school kids were walking up here in the dark.

“When I rang and said ‘Look you really have to do something about this’, the woman suggested I go out and buy some garden solar lights and they would reimburse me.

“It’s not like they are still doing any work. The builders pulled out three weeks ago, just leaving piles of rubble and tarmac everywhere. It’s a mess.”

His wife added: “They promised us faithfully it would be finished in two weeks. That was in September last year.”

Martee Figueiredo has lived in the development for three and a half years.

She said: “Sometimes Taylor Wimpey have randomly blocked off our driveway, allegedly to work on the road, but no work has been done.

“I work from home so I can say that nothing has happened here for at least the past three months.”