Sign up to our daily newsletter for all the latest Kent stories and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox Thank you for subscribing!We have more newsletters Bottled water was handed out to affected residents in the ME2 postcode area while a local leisure centre opened its doors for people to use their shower facilities. On Boxing Day, Southern Water announced that the source of the leak had finally been found and repairs were able to begin the A2 London Road had been shut Strood-bound near its junction with Cuxton Road and the A228 Gun Lane the A228 Gun Lane has been closed in both directions between the A2 High Street and Bryant Road Medway Council has announced that the works on the A2 London Road are due to be completed on Monday January 10 the emergency works on the A228 Gun Lane are scheduled to finish Diversion routes remain in place this weekend (January 4 and 5) while Southern Water and UK Power Networks crews carry out final checks The repairs have been slowed by the complicated nature of the works with the burst main sitting close to high voltage electrical cables A temporary overland pipe was installed on Saturday December 28 to keep residents supplied with water while repairs were carried out The pipe is due to be removed this weekend and regular supplies restored Southern Water stated: “Our teams are carrying out some final checks on the repaired pipe today (03/01/25) The temporary overland pipe will then be removed over the weekend and all impacted customers will be supplied as normal “If there will be any interruption to supply whilst we switch over We would like to thank local residents and businesses once again for their patience and understanding whilst we have been working on this complex repair over the Christmas period.” Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right For best viewing experience of this website Please enter a place name in the search bar After provisionally the warmest May Day on record in the UK higher than average temperatures will subside over the weekend Environment Agency Updated: 06:14 (UTC+1) on Tue 6 May 2025 it will turn increasingly cloudy from off the North Sea Some bright or sunny spells developing by evening Staying dry with some lengthy clear skies overnight Turning chilly with a touch of grass frost in places Largely dry with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells on Wednesday with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells throughout the period Dry across the vast majority of the UK with clear or sunny spells but also some patchy cloud Cloud will likely thicken across the far north and northwest during the weekend with some outbreaks of rain for a time There is also a small risk of some heavy showers in the far south or southwest high pressure will be dominant across the UK This will bring predominantly fine and dry weather for the majority of places Temperatures are likely to be slightly above normal for the time of year although there is a chance of some cold nights Fairly typical weather for the time of year is most likely through this period fine and dry weather is more likely to dominate although this will be interspersed with occasional spells of rain and showers with a risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms in places temperatures will most likely be near to or slightly above average We use some essential cookies to make this website work We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK remember your settings and improve government services We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services You have accepted additional cookies. 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You can change your cookie settings at any time Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology an on-track machine driver was injured while coupling a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) to a tamper on the High Speed 1 (HS1) line near Strood moved and struck the driver after a second MPV collided with the other end of it at a speed of about 20 km/h (12 mph) This second MPV was being driven towards the tamper with the intention of coupling all three vehicles together at the end of a night shift RAIB’s investigation found that it had become normal practice for this coupling operation to be undertaken with another vehicle approaching the other end of the tamper The established method of working was for the approaching vehicle to come to a stand at a ‘holding point’ situated around 50 to 100 metres away from the stationary vehicles The final movement would then be made at very slow speed and under control of the driver responsible for the coupling operation on this occasion the second MPV did not stop at the holding point This was because the driver propelling (reversing) the second MPV did not have a view of the railway in the direction of travel of the vehicle and was reliant on radio messages from a machine controller at the rear to know when to slow or stop the vehicle the radio being used by the machine controller had developed an intermittent fault which led to a breakdown in communication with the driver neither the driver nor the machine controller were initially aware that communications had been lost Although the machine controller subsequently realised that the radio was not working and alerted the driver that they needed to brake by a shouted warning this occurred too late to avoid the collision RAIB found that the type of radios being used during the movement did not transmit a constant ‘confidence tone’ which would have alerted staff to the loss of communications It was also not normal practice for machine controllers to communicate constantly on long transit moves RAIB found that the type of MPVs used on HS1 were not fitted with any facility for machine controllers riding on the rear deck to brake the vehicle despite an internal recommendation to fit this facility after a previous similar accident in 2021 An underlying factor in this accident was that Network Rail High Speed did not have safe systems of work for propelling moves or working on track when engineering vehicles were running during a possession A possible underlying factor was that the strategic safety assurance undertaken by HS1 Ltd did not identify that the recommendation to fit a braking facility to the rear deck had been closed with no actions being taken Network Rail High Speed has fitted its MPV fleet with emergency stop buttons adjacent to the rear deck secure communications systems and is due to install a rearwards-facing camera The first three are addressed to Network Rail High Speed and the fourth to HS1 Ltd The first recommendation aims to control the risks of engineering vehicle operation on HS1 while the second looks to keep staff working on the line safe by implementing a robust procedural framework The third recommendation is that Network Rail High Speed ensures that internal recommendations and local actions are reviewed and implemented in a way that reflects their intent and in a way that can be tracked and used to support safety decision‑making The final recommendation is for HS1 Ltd to exercise effective strategic safety assurance of its suppliers The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible and certainly long before publication of our final report Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details A new owner has been found for another disused Wilko in Kent one year after the brand disappeared from our high streets Poundstretcher will be moving into the former Wilko branch in Strood In September 2023, it was announced that Wilko had fallen into administration and, by early October, all 400 of its stores nationwide were closed - 13 of which were in Kent. At the start of 2024, the Strood branch, which neighbours Asda, was listed for rent by estate agent Cradick Retail Poundstretcher has confirmed it will be taking over the 14,529sq ft unit marking the first time the brand has opened in the Medway town While an exact opening date is yet to be confirmed the discount chain has said it is aiming to launch this autumn Poundstretcher is hiring for a number of different job roles through recruitment site Indeed including sales assistant Poundstretcher stocks a variety of everyday products said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing the Poundstretcher brand to Strood for the first time this autumn which will create up to 15 new full and part-time jobs will also be a great boost for the local high street with our winning combination of big brands at low prices combined with our 99p Super Deals helping to attract more shoppers to the town.” The announcement follows the recent confirmation that B&M is taking over the former Wilko in Gillingham High Street The move comes as part of the £13 million deal made last September which would see the discount franchise take over up to 51 former Wilko shops around the nation having been listed for rent by estate agent Jamieson Mills Elsewhere in Kent, a furniture store has taken over the Wilko in Canterbury in St George’s Street Mr Atkinson finished by saying: “It’s a really exciting time for Poundstretcher in the South East of England with a number of new store openings happening in the coming months and our team can’t wait to start welcoming customers to Poundstretcher Strood once we open our doors.” Get more news from KentLive straight to your inbox for free HERE. Get the latest property market news straight to your inbox It has now been one week since a burst water main first left hundreds of Strood homes and businesses without water December 23 and at its peak resulted in around 1,000 properties in the ME2 postcode area being without water Southern Water has now issued a new update on the situation after repair works finally commenced at the end of last week. On Boxing Day (Thursday, December 26) it was confirmed that the source of the leak had at long last been found and crews soon got to work to fix the pipe Repair works continued over the weekend but are still not yet completed water supplies have now been restored to all properties in the ME2 area A spokesperson for Southern Water has today (December 30) said: “All homes and businesses in the area were able to use water as normal from Saturday 28 December thanks to the installation of a new overland pipe we continue to work to repair this complex underground leak as quickly as possible - and apologise for the disruption this incident has caused." The repair works have been described as “complex” due to the burst main being near high voltage electrical cables Southern Water has been working with UK Power Networks to ensure the works can be completed safely It is not yet known when the repairs are expected to be completed Southern Water confirmed: “The overland pipes will be removed as soon as the repair is complete and water can be restored as normal.” Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.