Queues for the tip this morning have been described as "carnage" as thousands of people clear out the rubbish they've collected in lockdown.

On Wednesday an online booking system went live to allow people to get a time slot for when the doors opened today.

People faced queues behind 15,000 others to get a coveted space.

Medway Labour councillor Tristan Osborne was still left queuing to get in to a site at Capstone for.

He tweeted: "*Despite booking system* it's carnage @medway_council HWRC at Capstone.

"Queue isn’t moving and cars piling up down main road. Took 3.5 hours to book. Maybe not taking responsibility for Kent bookings next time might be an idea."

As of 1pm he has been queuing for an hour and 15 minutes.

Currently, only two of the three tips have been opened in the Towns', with the council looking at ways of opening Cuxton soon too.

Medway Council leader Alan Jarrett has urged people not to turn up at sites without a booking slot

Other parts of the county were slightly less chaotic.

Raf Hasan, 40, used the centre in Canterbury. He said:"It's a real relief.

"During lockdown me and many other people have done a lot of DIY and we have so much stuff to get rid of.

"As soon as I could, I joined the queue - I was 4,000th in the queue.

"I've got shed stuff and garden stuff to get rid of. I recycled as much I could - but I couldn't get rid of these bits."

Stewart Pry, 51, had so much rubbish to dump, he had to strap some of it to his roof.

He said: "We're concerned about rats because a couple of people up the road have had rats because they've been storing significant rubbish. So I'm relieved to get rid of it all.

"I mainly have stuff from the kitchen and lots of cardboard."

Liz Spruin, from Fordwich added: "We have a pretty packed car; we've got about 20 bags. It took us eight hours in a virtual queue to get our spot.

"We've got stuff from the attic - old presents and boxes. Before this, we'd come to the tip at least once a week."

Overheard conversation between someone queuing and member of staff that the tip usually gets about 1,300 cars a day, but are expecting 200 or 300 a day.

The first slot at Sittingbourne Recycling Centre was at 9am this morning.

Service manager Kevin Gill said: "Everyone who'd booked an appointment turned up - they've all been as good as gold.

"Everyone's very grateful that we are open, there's been no complaints, it has worked like clockwork this morning.

"They are all obeying the social distancing rules too."

Gary Bartlett, of Sittingbourne-based SkyHawk Pest Management, was also there with Sky, a rescue Harris Hawk.

He said: "Me and my son Ben run the business and go round sites where they have trouble with seagulls including the recycling centres, schools and construction sites.

"Because they take food waste here, they have a problem with the seagulls, so we've been flying Sky around today.

"It's not to catch the seagulls, just her presence will keep them away."

Meanwhile, John Kirkham, who lives in the town, was at the tip getting rid of gardening waste.

The 47-year-old said: "I've been doing lots of gardening, like thousands of other people, I expect, and have made a new patio area."

Speaking about the new process, he said: "It was quite painless."

Jonathan Revell, who also lives in Sittingbourne, agreed and said it was "very well done".

"To be honest, it took longer to book an appointment on the website than it did to come here and throw everything away," he said. "We were 980-odd in the queue."

The 37-year-old was at the tip because he had re-done his whole garden. I probably wouldn't have been able to do my garden to the extent I have done if we weren't in lockdown," he added.

Visitors to the tip will be faced with new rules and security measures when they arrive, with users asked to bring their proof of booking email, either printed or displayed on a phone, or their booking reference number if the slot was booked over the phone.

You should not try to book a visit if you have symptoms of Covid-19, if you are part of a household undertaking 14-day isolation or if you are someone who is in the shielded category.

To reduce infection risk car windows should remain closed when showing proof to staff.

Users will need to observe the social distancing measures when visiting the sites and site staff will not be able to help unload and dispose of waste.

Security will be in place at the centres, including Automatic Number Plate Recognition, CCTV and body-worn cameras, and sites may need to close temporarily for cleaning with no warning.

Read more: all the latest news from Kent.