Kent County Council has defended itself after residents claimed roads were not gritted enough during the snow.

Lorry driver Jason Duke spent Sunday night hauling lorries up Mill Way, Sittingbourne, with his son Jack after a blizzard hit the town.

The Dukes Driver director said he felt let down by the council because of the condition of the roads.

He said: "They weren't gritted quick enough and I've challenged KCC Highways over the last few years on gritting.

"I've been told in the past there is too many cars on the road and that gritters can't get around this year.

"But this year due to lockdown there isn't enough cars on the road to run over the grit to make it work."

However, the county authority says it has 120 gritting crews which were on the roads last week.

'We cannot guarantee that all ice will be removed.'

A KCC spokesman said: "Both Mill Way and Milton Road were gritted as they are on the primary routes.

"Gritter crews – there are approximately 120 of them – were working shifts to ensure crews are available to respond 24 hours a day for the primary network.

"We use snow ploughs fitted onto gritters to plough snow from the roads. Snow has to be ploughed off the surface of the road, as salt will not melt it.

"Although we treat roads in Kent, we cannot guarantee that all ice will be removed."

Jason Duke helped move up to 15 lorries in the snow with the help of his son Jack and said it was good to see so many people come out and help others.

He said: "Acts of kindness all day every day day. You only have to look back at Christmas when people were making meals for lorry drivers stuck in Kent because of Covid.

"You don't really think about the danger side of things when you're trying to help people, but the roads and paths were slippery and dangerous."

The county council denied claims that parts of Swale had run out of salt to grit the roads.

Read more: All the latest news from Sittingbourne