A couple have been forced to shell out thousands of pounds for repairs after a sinkhole appeared on their driveway.

Pensioners Linda and Keith Palmer, of Milton Hall Road, Gravesend, say they have had to pay £10,000 after Southern Water and Kent County Council did not take responsibility for the hole because it was on private land.

Mrs Palmer said: "It all started because we had no water one evening in December 2019 and reported this to the water boards after doing various checks in our home and checking the neighbours' water supply.

"Only ours was affected and when a member of staff visited at midnight the same evening to investigate, his foot went through the kerb outside our house and it escalated from there."

Over the next few days, both KCC and Southern Water turned up to take a look. A tree was cut down and removed as it was tilting outside the property.

Some workers noticed a small crack in one of the water pipes, and the couple reported a water leak at the property after noticing surface water and a gushing sound outside.

Mrs Palmer, 67, said: "Both KCC arrived followed by Southern Water to inspect the site again, and the hole in the road was now a major collapse.

"They both attended the next morning and dug some holes and isolated the mains water. They did work for the next couple of days, but we stopped getting regular updates.

She said that they were advised to contact their insurance companies to pursue a claim for all the damage, however their insurance does not cover the external property.

She said: "KCC Highways told us that as they believed there was still a water issue they would not undertake repairs but Southern Water said they will not check the site again as there were no more leaks.

"We eventually had the work done ourselves in August 2020, eight months after the initial problem, and we still have some sinkage on our driveway due to settlement from the hole.

"It was the same year as we were waiting for Covid restrictions to end so we've given them a lot of time to reply now. It gets a bit soul destroying when you don't get anybody answering you, and my husband gave up to be honest.

"My husband fell into the hole at one point, and although it looks quite funny it could have been nasty."

The sinkhole also went on to impact their neighbour's property, and they had to pay £7,000 for repairs.

Mrs Palmer retired two months before the issue began, but had to return to work just to help pay for the repairs to the driveway and brick boundary. They also had to dip into their retirement fund to help pay towards the fix.

She said: "We did not necessarily have a problem with the time taken to rectify the damage to the road, but rather the lack of help, concern or solution to the damage that was caused to our properties through no fault of our own."

A Kent County Council spokesman said: "Our Highways team did visit the site, but concluded that the hole in the driveway, which is on private property and not a KCC highway, was caused by a leak in a water pipe.

"We have not been involved recently and believe the matter should be resolved either by Southern Water or an insurance claim."

A Southern Water spokesman said: "Sinkholes and subsidence can be caused by numerous factors including both natural and man-made causes.

"We investigated this incident and independent reports found no evidence that a water leak from our apparatus caused the sinkhole in our customers’ driveway.

"We have advised our customers to contact their insurer should they have any further concerns."