Councillors have called for a rethink of how Kent County Council reacts to snow following the week of disruption caused by the Beast from the East.

Kent residents were praised for “getting on with it” in the face of extreme weather during a meeting on flood management at County Hall yesterday afternoon.

As inches of snow covered the county last week, children stayed at home and residents were advised to avoid driving and public transport unless there was an emergency.

The M20, Dartford tunnel and Sheppey Crossing temporarily closed and thousands of passengers on trains towards Kent were stranded.

Schoolchildren had a five-day weekend as more than 240 schools were closed in the county.

Cllr Ian Chittenden (Lib Dem) said there are lessons to be learned for the future.

“I think our people did spectacularly well and reacted very well but at the end of the day we will have to answer the questions,” he said.

“Indeed, this problem came to us quickly but why couldn’t we get to the hills or bus routes?

“We know there is a money issue but until this year, I thought ‘what a great thing we produced’.

“It seemed to be working but maybe there are some things that we need to think about again.”

Senior emergency planning officer for Kent County Council, Tony Harwood, told councillors that thanks to the advanced warning from the Met Office, plans were put in place in advance to tackle the Beast from the East.

Mr Harwood said: “KCC responded very effectively and sent out an urgent update with the severe weather advisory group.

“We used it in the week running up to the snow event. The Met Office gave us some good forewarning ahead of the Beast of the East.

“That enabled us to have the resources in place. That allowed us to put a good response of staffing in place.

“Last week we were using the #kentsnow and it had a significant uptake on social media.

“We were proactive with the message and we asked people to look out for their neighbour and for the vulnerable and there were interviews on local radios warning people.”

He added: “Some of the calls upon gritter and social care providers worked but we were lucky when the weather broke when it did.

“We are on the edge where sustainability was becoming an issue and we will refine those communications in the future.”

Many residents are without water as pipes have burst across Kent following the freeze.

Up to 5,000 homes across the county are thought to have been affected.

Chairman of Yalding Parish Council, Geraldine Brown, who won a national award last year for her efforts when her hometown was flooded, said: “I think the people of Kent are very resilient and we just get on with it.

“I think that at the end of the day, most people came out of it as well as you would expect and just got on with it.”