Ashford Borough Council (ABC) spent £8,360 on a 10-foot galvanised steel fence to block off a former homeless camp.

Workers have spent three days erecting the industrial-strength boundary around the site under the Edinburgh Road car park ramp in the town centre.

Seven men and one women had made their home under the ramp after the Winter Homeless Shelter scheme, run by Churches Together, came to an end.

They were given emergency accommodation by the council but just 10 days later found themselves back on the street and back in the 'safest place' they could find.

But the homeless group were forced to move out on Sunday following a suspected arson attack on the camp that razed their tents to the ground and left their possessions in a charred heap.

One of the group, Jason Butler, 30, said the attack has left him with 'absolutely nothing' and scared to sleep.

He said: "Everything I own has gone up in smoke, everything, and I just don’t know what to think or do right now.

"It was a new tent I had got a few days before because the last one got slashed up with a Stanley knife while I was asleep.

"I had gone to find somewhere to charge my phone just before 10pm and I took the dog with me, luckily enough.

"By the time I got back it was around 10.30pm and the fire brigade were already there and four tents had gone up in flames.

"The one set alight belonged to the couple in the tent next me to me, and mine actually blew up because of the gas bottles in it.

"It’s a miracle no one was hurt. If anyone had been in the camp at the time they would be dead.

"I don’t know where anyone else is, they all disappeared that evening but we’re all living in fear now, it has really shook me up."

An ABC spokesman said the incident has been referred to the police and Porchlight will be working with the group to find them a solution.

He added: "As far as we are aware the group now have moved on. I believe one member of the group indicated that they were staying with friends now.

"The cost of the fence reflects the amount and type of fencing, awkward site access and the costs of cleaning the area before works could start."