EUROSTAR has criticised the lack of support among councils and others to help the company promote the new Ebbsfleet International station in north Kent.

In a thinly-veiled attack, company chief executive Richard Brown said Eurostar had been left on its own to do the job of putting Ebbsfleet on the map because of the focus on the lengthy campaign against plans to axe services from Ashford.

The company has unveiled details of its new timetable for services running from London, Ebbsfleet and Ashford. It promised passengers 16 daily services to Paris, Lille and Brussels compared with 12 now.

Mr Brown stopped short of identifying who he felt was to blame about the failure to promote Ebbsfleet but his comments left little doubt the company felt let down.

A long-running campaign to try and block cutbacks at Ashford was effectively lost earlier this week when Eurostar said there would be no U-turn.

Mr Brown said: "No other county in the country has two high-speed stations. The focus has been on what Kent is losing but there will be more services stopping in the county.

"Eurostar is an international partnership and our French and Belgium partners have an equal right in terms of where we stop and we have to strike a balance."

He added: "Ebbsfleet is not on the map yet. It would have been nice to have had a bit more help. We would have liked to have seen a more positive response from stakeholders. At the moment, we are doing most of it ourselves.

"I am not pretending the glass is completely full but if you look at Kent as a whole, it is much better off. There comes a time when you have to look at the future.

"The focus has been on what is being lost from Ashford and I understand that disappointment but there will be more services stopping in Kent."

County councillor Roger Gough (Con), KCC cabinet member for regeneration, rejected the charge.

He said: "We have not turned down any approach from Eurostar to promote Ebbsfleet and we do recognise that both stations are important to Kent.

"Inevitably, if you do take away services, it is the job of public bodies to reflect what concerns there may be."

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Tickets for the new services under the new timetable that will start on December 9, will go on sale on July 24.

For the first time, passengers will be able to travel to reach both Paris and Brussels before 9am.