Parts of Kent were braced for flooding today, as the county was put on alert.

The Environment Agency warned a mix of high tides and strong winds could cause a tidal surge along the north Kent coast.

The authority said flooding to coastal footpaths and promenades and low lying land and roads was possible, but that homes would not be affected.

Tides were at their highest between 1pm and 2pm.

The areas where warnings were issued were:

• Tidal Medway, the Medway estuary and Isle of Grain, including Aylesford, Medway Towns, Lower Halstow, Middle Stoke and Lower Stoke
• Dartford to Allhallows, including Crayford, Greenhithe, Northfleet, Gravesend and the North Kent Marshes
• Isle of Sheppey and north Kent coast from Kemsley to Seasalter, including Sheerness, Minster, Queenborough, Leysdown on Sea, Sittingbourne and Faversham
• Whitstable to Margate, including Herne Bay, Reculver, Marshside, Saint Nicholas at Wade, Birchington and Westgate on Sea

Canterbury City Council shut the floodgates at Herne Bay pier as a precaution.

The authority said it would be monitoring the tide and may operate the sluice gates on coastal rivers if necessary.

However, it later tweeted to say: "High tide has now passed without incident and our engineers are being stood down.

"If all continues to be well, the floodgates we closed today will reopen tomorrow, with the exception of some in Whitstable that stay shut throughout the winter."

The Thames Barrier was also closed at 11.35am. The Environment Agency said it was standard practice to prevent flooding to more than 500,000 homes in the London area.

There were reports of very high tides in Whitstable, nd water has breached the coastal promenade in Gravesend, which was been left partially submerged by the surge.

Meanwhile, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust's Emergency Planning and Response team tweeted to warn people to stay safe near the coast and tidal rivers.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "We are closely monitoring the situation and our incident response staff are prepared to check and operate our defences.

"Please be careful along beaches, promenades, coastal footpaths and roads as large waves and sea spray could be dangerous."

This flood alerts had been removed by 5pm.