More than 150 people fled Littlestone seafront on today in fear that a large tidal wave would hit the coastline.

Shocked residents who may have seen the incident from a distance had been previously warned that the commotion was in fact a set up.

The frightened members of the public were volunteers who had applied to take part and were acting.

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The day-long practice was a part of Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) who were running through an emergency procedure in the event of the sea defences failing.

The KRF is a partnership made up of Kent Fire and Rescue, the South East Coast Ambulance, the Environment Agency, Kent Police, Kent County Council and all local councils and voluntary organisations.

Part of the exercise was staged on the seafront at Littlestone from west of St Andrew’s Road along the Grand Parade to the junction with Clark Road.

Spokesman Steve Scully, senior resilience officer with KRF team, said: “One of our most important roles is working with the local authority or communities to practice how we respond to any major emergency.

“This exercise is designed to test the response of all the services when a serious flood hits local homes – although I would like to reassure the people of Littlestone that there is only a one in 1,000 year chance of this happening.”

For more flooding information, visit environment-agency.gov.uk/floodrisk or ring the Environment Agency on 0345 988 1188.

People can also receive automated telephone warnings if their properties are at risk from flooding.

To sign up, visit gov.uk/sign-up- for-flood-warnings.