Fed-up residents have told how they are being kept awake all night by cars driving over a loose manhole cover which makes a sound like 'gunshots.'

The noisey cover in a street in Maidstone, Kent, has been sounding off for over a week now, with those living nearby saying this isn't the first time it has broken.

In a short video clip of the road, the manhole cover is driven over - producing the clattering noise - five times in just 18 seconds.

Helen Ralph has been living next to the road for the past 15 years and says the constant noise of lorries driving over the drain keeps her up at night.

"We don't get a good night's sleep because I'm right near the main road and I hear everything," the retired 58-year-old said. "

"I hear every car, every lorry that goes up the road and that drain going donk, donk, donk, all night long, so you can imagine you can't get to sleep."

"It sounds like a gun going off, but it's not the first time, that drain has been like that before."

Kent County Council has said it is aware of the issue and is speaking to the utility company responsible for the manhole cover to be repaired.

But Ms Ralph says this is the third time the same drain has had issues.

Paul Evans, who works at the 440-acre Mote Park in Maidstone and lives with Ms Ralph, said: "The noise is all the time. "

"I have to get up for work and I can't be having that noise."

The pair say they are reluctant to report it to the council because they don't believe it will improve the situation.

However, they say they want road improvements to be prioritised - especially given their council tax has risen recently.

Ms Ralph added: "The roads around here are disgusting; they've got great big potholes in them."

Another Willington Street resident on the other side of the road, who gave his name as Michael, says the noisy manhole cover is disturbing his rest as it can be heard from his bedroom.

"It's a very busy road and a lorry going past will hit that manhole and make a loud noise," he said. "

"It happens at night-time as well with a lot of HGVs coming up and down the road all night and it disrupts your sleep."

The noise, which he describes as a 'large clatter', has been noticeable over the past week or so and he says he is 'putting up with it' for now.

Michael added: "It keeps happening because the repairing is very poor, they obviously haven't spent enough money doing the job properly."

Similar issues have also affected others in Kent this year.

A manhole cover in Lower Stone Street, Maidstone, was reported to have been disturbing residents in April.

Meanwhile, a similar issue was encountered by those living by a Southern Water manhole cover at the junction of Factory Road and the High Street in Northfleet, Kent, a few months back.

A spokesperson from Kent County Council said: "KCC is aware of an issue with a utility cover on Willington Street. "

"This is a utility company asset and is their responsibility to make a repair. We are speaking to the company to ensure the works are carried out."