Two of Kent’s MEPs have clashed over whether the UK should leave the EU as the official countdown to the historic poll gets underway.

Conservative MEP Dan Hannan, a leading figure in the “leave” campaign group, and Liberal Democrat Catherine Bearder, who wants the UK to stay, locked horns in a special edition of the KMTV programme, Paul On Politics.

We brought the two together in the Strasbourg Parliament to argue their corner.

Scroll down for video and a special EU edition of Paul on Politics

It led to some testy exchanges, with Catherine Bearder accusing Mr Hannan of neglecting his duties as an MEP, saying he would have a clearer understanding “if you did your job properly.”

Mr Hannan dismissed the claim and argued Kent would be better off financially and the risk was worth taking.

“Kent pays in more as a relatively affluent part of the UK and gets back relatively less. We gave the EU more than what we saved in the austerity period of the last government,” he said.

But Mrs Bearder said: “We know we have a stronger economy by being in. We are a dynamo of the economy. Kent is a really important part of the EU economy - if we cut ourselves off from that, the economy will take a nosedive."

VIDEO: Dan Hannan MEP and Catherine Bearder MEP clash over the EU referendum debate

Mr Hannan said there were as many risks associated with staying in as part of the EU as there were with leaving.

“People need to think of the risks of staying in. We will be acquiescing in everything that comes our way and inviting the EU to legislate more.”

Catherine Bearder retorted that the UK would be left on the sidelines if it was not part of the EU.

PAUL ON POLITICS: KM's Political Editor Paul Francis travelled to Strasbourg to answer one question - what does an In or an Out vote mean for Kent? Watch our special programme and keep informed

“Outside of the EU, we would be left on the White Cliffs of Dover, shouting ‘and me, and me,’” she said.

You can see the special programme on KMTV above.