A council leader says he has sleepless nights worrying whether residents are getting access to the support they need.

Cllr Jeremy Kite has described how business at Dartford council was flipped upside down in days.

The Tory says what started out as a public health issue quickly became something quite different and is now a "civic emergency" to which he said they had a "duty of individual wellbeing".

Last month, the council sent out letters to every home in the borough with a contact number and guidance on how they could access help.

It also launched the Dartford Together initiative and began delivering boxes of food and supplies with the help of community volunteers to the most vulnerable residents.

He said: "First week we had something like 250 calls. We worked out about 60 people of those would not have been aware of that help."

Cllr Kite added how the impact of Covid-19 on residents had kept him awake at night.

"I won't lie it has been very stressful and I have had sleepless nights"

"We do feel intensely responsible," he said. "I won't lie it has been very stressful and I have had sleepless nights."

"If I don't get the act I want for the Dartford Festival, I don't go to bed worrying."

"But if it's people who can't get help that does keep you awake - it is a horrible experience".

But he hastens to to add his own experience and that of his council colleagues pales into insignificance compared to those NHS workers on the frontline.

Nevertheless, he says he is immensely proud of his team's response which had seen some employees' roles change drastically.

This includes park wardens and traffic attendants who have been re-assigned to help deliver supplies.

Cllr Kite praised environmental health officers whose work he says often goes unnoticed but has suddenly been brought to the fore.

He also commended the "cross party" approach to weekly Tuesday cabinet meetings where Labour and independent leaders were invited and said this showed a willingness as a council to work constructively to solve their problems.

He has been a ward councillor for his parish in Longfield, New Barn and Southfleet since 1997 and leader of Conservative-controlled council since 2006.

In this time he has seen plenty of highs and lows but says nothing could have prepared him for the impact of Covid-19.

"Like every council leader I thought I knew the job," he said.

"You fall into a regular pattern and for a time that was how my job was."

But now he says the pandemic has made him second guess this as he has seen his role transformed massively in the last two months.

He said while resilience planning was nothing new for the council, it had forced it to make urgent changes.

His weekly diary of meetings has now been replaced by Zoom calls and while the easing of lockdown restrictions has meant he can return to the council's civic offices a few days a week he expects digital calls to be the "new normal".

A self-confessed technophobe, he is sceptical of becoming too over reliant on the conference app as he says he is acutely aware there are many residents who do not have access to or understanding of these technologies.

But he also added: "I think there is going to be a big change to people's attitudes and we as a council will need to adapt and change to that."

The council has given out more than £11 million to 800 businesses ranging from £10,000 to £25,000 but Cllr Kite says more efforts will be needed to get the local economy back on its feet.

He recounts how one small business owner had told him he felt like a failure after starting his own cafe only to see it shut.

Moving forward Cllr Kite said he will be making it his own personal mission to ensure each business gets the support it deserves.

Dartford Back for Business will promote struggling traders and encourage people to shop local.

"I'm not depressed about it. I think we are turning the corner," he said. "Dartford is in a good position, we are financially sound."

A big part of this he says will be encouraging new ways of remote working and affording people more time with family and friends.

"We need to move from a static economy to a more versatile one," he adds.

"I'm not depressed about it. I think we are turning the corner."

Cllr Kite said no doubt the psychological impact will have taken its toll and he hopes relieving pressure on the NHS will free up more funds to spend on mental health services in the future.

"What we want is a flatter economy, so that a nurse and a bus driver has as much say as others in society," he said.

"I don't think everyone should be rewarded the same but how people are recognised is important."

"The big take home is let's try and take forward the kindness."

He added he was most looking forward to getting back to Princes Park and seeing Dartford FC play when "civic life returned".

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