Final warnings ahead of tomorrow's hard-hitting storm have been issued, with forecasters predicting a "really bad day" for Kent.

Council chiefs say people should not leave the house "unless absolutely necessary" due to Storm Eunice's ferocity.

Flying debris and fallen trees are expected to blight the county from 3am onwards.

As it stands, the south-east is covered by an amber weather warning, but there is a possibility the risk level could be heightened to red.

A rarely-implemented red warning, which is in force in Cornwall and Devon, would mean there is a danger to life.

It is anticipated Kent will see gusts of 60-70mph quite widely, with the potential for gusts as high as 80mph near the coast and inland in exposed elevated areas.

The highest of these winds are expected between 9am and 2pm.

Toby Howe, senior highway manager at KCC, believes Eunice will be one of the worst storms in years - rivalling those of 2009 and 1990.

"It will be a serious storm hitting the south-east," he said.

"I think the peak of it is going to be in the late morning, and then it'll die down through the afternoon.

"We're expecting fallen trees, flying debris, etc. Journeys on the roads will be a bit hit and miss really especially in wooded areas.

"There is still the possibility that it could go to a red warning, so we are in constant communication with the Met Office to make sure we're aware of that. It's very borderline between amber and red at the moment.

"Because it's in the daytime rather than overnight, there will be a lot of people out and about even though people are being advised to not go out too much."

Mr Howe says people should only go out if "absolutely necessary."

"One of the key problems that we've got is, if there are big problems at Dover, then ferries can't necessarily come and go as much as they should normally. So there will be lengthy delays with freight queuing.

"We are getting very serious warnings and the Met Office is advising that 'yes, this could really be bad for the south-east'.

"A lot of building companies are stopping work from tomorrow because of flying debris and safety to people. The priority is the safety of people out and about.

Mr Howe is also advising residents to tie down loose outdoor equipment, such as trampolines, and to prevent wheelie bins from flying around the streets.

Additional tree surgeons will be on duty throughout the day to help clear blocked roads, and power networks will be on high alert to rectify inevitable outages.

"It could take a while, if people are out of power, for that power to be restored because of the lack of resources."

The QEII bridge will be shut from 5am, and a host of top Kent attractions will not be opening to the public.

Southeastern, which is advising passengers not to travel, will be running a reduced service at 50mph speed limits.