DAMAGE to a property in Sevenoaks Upper High Street, caused by lorries rumbling past, could cost as much as £50,000 to fix.

That is why Ross Taylor, owner of the vacant offices at number 26, is a staunch supporter of the campaign to ban HGVs from this stretch of road.

Mr Taylor, a property developer and agent, wants to turn the building into three flats, but faces a staggering bill to underpin one of the walls and waterproof the basement before work can begin.

The 53-year-old has owned the property since the late 1990s and said last year a crack emerged which now runs from the top floor to the bottom.

He is certain trucks are to blame.

Many of the buildings in the Upper High Street Conservation Area, including his, are centuries old and their foundations simply cannot withstand the pressure these vehicles are placing them under.

"This is a listed building and the cost of doing all the underpinning work will be huge," said the father-of-four.

"Unless something is done I anticipate more of the same.

"It's one of those situations where you've got a part of the town built hundreds of years ago and not made to cope with lorries."

On top of this, Mr Taylor said water bubbles up through the floor of his basement on a regular basis and he is going to have to shell out more money to waterproof it.

He stopped short of blaming lorries for rupturing the drains, but he did say: "God knows how much these lorries weigh and I'm sure it doesn't do the drains any good."

Last year the Ashgrove Road resident moved his company New Era Overseas, which sells executive properties, to the parade of shops in London Road opposite Sevenoaks Station.

He claimed in the time the organisation had been based in the Upper High Street there had been a number of near misses involving lorries.

"This is certainly one of the narrowest and most dangerous parts of town," said Mr Taylor.

"You literally had lorries with their wing mirrors banging along the glass.

"Quite often you get situations where two lorries can't pass if they're coming in opposite directions.

"One of them has to give way and that means a lorry coming on to the pavement."

On one occasion Mr Taylor was phoned by his sales manager while abroad following an accident.

A lorry had smashed into the building next door.

Another 2ft and he said his office would have been hit and his staff seriously injured.

"I'm convinced it's only a matter of time before there's a really nasty accident here," said Mr Taylor.

Calling for action he added: "Obviously a ban would be fantastic, or if you could reroute traffic from this part of the town and have a pedestrian area, that would be good too."

The Chronicle is running a campaign in conjunction with Sevenoaks Society to ban HGVs from the Upper High Street area of the town.

To find out more or sign the petition visit www.sevenoakssociety.org

Do you have a HGV horror story? Call us on 01732 228000.