Fed up villagers have banded together to hold an 'unhappy' birthday party - for a two-year-old water leak.

Locals brought party hats, a banner and even a cake to commemorate the occasion and demand urgent action in the coastal village of Seasalter, Kent.

Despite consistent complaints to the water company responsible for the unwanted leak, it has flowed unchecked for two years.

Furious residents living on Church Lane in Seasalter complain the road becomes "lethal" when it freezes in the winter and is "an accident waiting to happen". "

South East Water (SEW) previously told locals that nesting newts and tree roots were halting necessary repair works from getting underway.

However, bosses at the water company now claim that Kent County Council (KCC) have told them repairs cannot take place until after the summer due to the impact road closures would have on nearby holiday spot Rowan Tree Park.

John Young, who has lived in the area for 12 years, said locals were tired of excuses.

He estimated that thousands of gallons had flowed from the leak over the years - yet SEW still imposed annual hosepipe bans for lack of water.

"We are not activists, campaigners, or environmentalists," he said. "

"But we have a contract with the suppliers, and their part of the deal is that they provide us with a service for which we pay quite a lot of money these days."

"On their part, they provide the water and maintain the facilities to provide that water."

"Well, they're not living up to their end of the bargain."

"It's been reported to them, and here we are, two years later, with excuse after excuse after excuse."

"I mean, it's laughable, and it's almost like they're thinking, ‘Well, you don't really matter.'"

"But we notice these things, and we're not going to sit down and say, ‘Don't worry, you can sleep at night - you can take our money and not do anything for it'. "

"We're talking thousands of gallons over the years, yet we've got hose pipe bans imposed on us yearly."

"They are not giving any details about what they're going to do, when they're going to do it, and who's going to do it, and they are or should be relatively simple questions to answer, yet they're not answering them."

"I don't understand why it's so difficult to ask them to do their bit, which is to keep leaks like that repaired."

SEW already undertook two repairs in the area last year, but the leak remains an ongoing problem for many residents.

Labour councillors Naomi Smith and Charlotte Cornell say inaction over the leak could lead to an accident on the road.

In a statement, the Canterbury City Council members added: "We held an UNhappy birthday party alongside residents for the long-running Church Lane leak in Seasalter, and they are fed up with SEW – there's never been any successful repair."

"This has been dribbling, pouring, and spurting away since at least 2022, wasting thousands of gallons of water while piling pressure on already creaking sewage systems and damaging road surfaces."

"This road is lethal in winter when the water freezes and is an accident waiting to happen."

"This is just one of the leaks across Whitstable that have been ongoing for over six months. "

"The inaction and excuses of the water companies must stop."

"First, SEW couldn't find the leak. Then there were too many roots, then nearby nesting newts, then they couldn't locate the landowner. "

"And now - apparently - they can't do anything because KCC doesn't want to shut the road during the summer as it leads to a holiday park. Excuse, after excuse, after excuse."

"They must do a lot better."

SEW insisted saving water was one of its "top priorities". "

A spokesperson said: "We understand that seeing water lost to leaks can be frustrating. "

"Fixing leaks and saving water is one of our top priorities."

"Two previous leaks in July and November 2023 have been repaired."

"We always work to repair leaks as quickly as possible; however, Church Lane will need to be closed before this latest repair can be undertaken."

"Due to the impact this will have on a local holiday park, the local highways authority has stipulated it will need to be undertaken after the holiday season on September 9."

A KCC spokesperson said: "We were contacted by SEW on 4th June about an ongoing leak in Church Lane, Seasalter."

"They advised us they could not repair the leak until July as newts were breeding at that location."

"We advised that future access would be dependent on them having discussions with holiday parks in the area, as width restrictions along the alternative route would cause issues if large caravans or delivery vehicles needed access."

"We have not heard anything about this closure since 7th June, but we look forward to hearing from South East Water once they have completed the necessary checks."