Footage shows the dramatic moment this year’s highest tide swept the Kent coast.

Whitstable and Herne Bay both experienced particularly high water and Canterbury City Council engineers had to respond by closing floodgates and operating sluice gates on the coastal brooks to prevent any flooding.

At one time the water threatened to overtop Central Parade in Herne Bay.

The high tide was made worse by a strong north-westerly wind which added to the tidal surge.

With the event now over, the floodgates will be reopened this weekend, but there is some clearing up to do, and the council has asked the public to exercise patience.

A spokesman described their engineers as doing “amazing work in challenging conditions.”

The council had expected the high winds to have an effect and said it had been constantly monitoring weather forecasts.

It had closed a number of floodgates yesterday during the day as a precaution, with the high tides hitting at 10pm.

Videos show boats inside the protection of Whitstable Harbour being rocked in the choppy water.

In Herne Bay, footage shows waves racing up the beach and crashing into the embankment of Marine Parade, sending high plumes of water into the air.

The council had prepared for the high tides after the Environment Agency issued a series of flood alerts for the Medway and Thames Estuaries and along the coast yesterday.

Alerts were issued for parts of Hoo, Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Cuxton, Halling, Aylesford, Larkfield, Wouldham, Upnor, Hoo and Lower Halstow.

They were also given for the coastline from St Margaret's at Cliffe to Sandgate, from Ramsgate to Kingsdown, and from Whitstable to Margate.

All of the alerts have now been withdrawn, although warnings stay in place for many more northerly parts of the country.