Furious villagers have staged another protest after repairs to a sinkhole, which appeared outside a row of shops in August 2017, still appear to be ongoing.

A sign saying, ‘What are we hanging around for?’ has been erected in Straight Bit, Flackwell Heath, by the parade of shops, along with toy monkeys hung from the fencing around the sinkhole.

It comes after a large area of collapsed pavement appeared outside the row of shops and steadily grew in size, with shopkeepers saying they were losing business as a result of it.

Last year, Daisy Gift Shop owner Bruce Jacob, put up inflatable dinosaurs and balloons on the site to represent the length of time it had taken for the repairs to start.

Mr Jacob is also behind the latest stunt, saying: “I did it to try and make light of the situation without being rude or offensive, but also trying to make more people aware of it.

“It’s to say, ‘how long do we have to hang around waiting before it’s all done?’

“Even though the majority of the job’s done, the rest of it still needs attention. There are benches and bike racks behind the fencing and the people of Flackwell Heath should be able to use them.”

William Heneker from Lamberts Chartered Surveyors, the management company for Aries House, which owns the row of shops in the parade, said: “After the delayed completion of the grouting works due to a significant extra amount of voids needing filling, we designed the final paving work.

“That could not have been done until after the grouters left site to leave the surface clear for inspection.

“We have had costs back in, and these have been sent to the insurers’ loss adjuster. Two estimates didn’t get back to us until early last week.”