UNEXPECTED snow falls which forced the Bluewater shopping centre at Greenhithe to close and brought large parts of north Kent to a standstill in January cost the county council £401,000 to clear up.

County council road chiefs say the impact of the snow storms which hit large parts of Gravesend and Dartford on January 8 were aggravated because they happened during the morning rush hour.

County councillors were told of the clear-up costs at a meeting of KCC's Highways Board. n a report, road chiefs say that although snow was forecast and gritting lorries had been sent out, KCC was caught out when the band of bad weather came to a halt over north Kent.

That led to deeper falls of snow than expected and an official snow emergency was declared as traffic came to a halt and Bluewater had to shut, stranding hundreds of shoppers.

County councillors say the clear-up operation could have been hampered by the fact that gritting lorries were now based at a depot in Swanley rather than at Pepper Hill while road works were carried out.

Cllr Frank Gibson, who represents Gravesham Rural division on KCC, said: "It [the depot] must be returned to the Gravesend and Dartford area as soon as the work is completed. There is a problem when you get a heavy build-up of snow and can't get lorries into the area."

In total, KCC spent nearly £1.9million on snow clearance and gritting - excluding the £401,000 spent on the snow emergency.