Kent's emergency services have sought to reassure residents in the event of a serious crash while Operation Brock is in place on the M20.

It comes after footage emerged this morning showing a near miss between two lorries within the contra-flow system near junction 9 for Ashford.

The incident has raised questions about the safety of the narrow lanes implemented and also about whether there is adequate signage.

WATCH: Near miss on the M20 within the Operation Brock contraflow

A senior county councillor earlier warned a contraflow on the M20 was dangerous and said emergency services would be hampered when called to attend accidents.

An ambulance service spokesman said: "As a Trust, we recognise the potential risks that any road network disruption may have on our ability to provide a responsive service and our crews are trained to drive to the road conditions that present when responding to a call.

"With any emergency we will look to respond as quickly as possible in line with national response time targets.

"To ensure we are able to maintain our response during Operation Brock, a range of options have been identified, including accessing incidents in the contraflow via the existing coast-bound carriageway.

"We will continue to work closely with our partner agencies to plan for any traffic congestion and would remind drivers to be vigilant and be aware of approaching emergency vehicles at all times."

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said officials were already preparing for potential impacts on how Brexit might affect its services.

"We expect to be able to continue to provide an effective emergency service for our local communities during any period of congestion or disruption," said area manager Chris Else.

"We have 56 stations across Kent and it is part of our everyday planning to move fire engines to strategic locations to continually provide the best emergency cover we can in the county.

"KFRS has worked with Highways England and Kent Police to ensure emergency access is provided for blue light vehicles, and access on main roads and motorways has been part of the planning for such an eventuality."

Neither KFRS, or the ambulance service would reveal if a target time had been set to reach someone who was injured.

Asked what recommendations Kent Police had made to Highways England during the consultation on Operation Brock, assistant chief constable Peter Ayling said: "As part of Kent Police's contingency planning for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, it has supported partner agencies to prepare their own plans to help keep Kent moving.

"In regards to Operation Brock, Kent Police was consulted by Highways England and has provided feedback regarding its design and development including emergency access protocols.

"Kent Police does not have target attendance times and officers who are likely to be called upon to attend Brock for any policing purpose have been fully-briefed on doing so safely."

Speaking about what would happen in the event of an emergency within the contraflow system, a Highways England spokesman said: "We have detailed plans for responding to and resolving incidents on any of the carriageways in use during Operation Brock, which have been tested and agreed by our partners in the Kent Resilience Forum."

He revealed the contraflow currently in place can be set out or removed within 48 hours.

"There are a number of different phases in Operation Brock that can be scaled up or down to respond to circumstances," he said.

"The steel barrier takes at least a few weeks to deploy and remove and is designed for deployments of up to six months.

"The contraflow that is currently in place can be set out or removed over a weekend.

"With any emergency we will look to respond as quickly as possible in line with national response time targets..."- Kent's ambulance service

"Subsequent phases, such as Manston Airfield and the M26 can be mobilised within hours if needed."

Asked what Highways England was doing about lorries and HGVs using the coastbound contra-flow carriageway, the spokesman said: "Only lorries that are destined for mainland Europe need to use the queuing area," he said.

"Others can use the contraflow with other traffic.

"We are satisfied with the levels of compliance that we have seen so far."

Officials confirmed the development and deployment of Operation Brock had come from a £35 million project budget.