Council officials have forced a father to take down his daughter’s swing set on the grounds it could be dangerous to other children.

Tony Carter says his daughter Marnie’s mother was contacted by Canterbury City Council warning her the swings in the front communal garden of the council flats in Sea Street, Herne Bay could pose a threat - despite there being a fence stopping people accessing the grounds.

The 42-year-old claims his offer to unclip the swings when they were not in use was turned down.

“The flat is ground floor on a main road but there is a fence about three-and-a-half feet tall around it,” he said.

“We got permission two years ago that we could have the swings up but we received a call from the council saying we have to take them down.

“They say if kids jump over the fence and go on them and hurt themselves, the council will be responsible. Unless we can supervise the swings the whole time, we have to remove them.

“They won’t compromise either - I asked if I could unhook the swings each night but they said the frame has to come down.”

Mr Carter says four-year-old Marnie was devastated when he removed them.

“Her and her little mates love going on those swings and now they can’t,” he said.

“Marnie was really upset. She doesn’t understand why they need to be taken down.

“I just told her it’s because it’s muddy and cold outside.”

Mr Carter says he can’t keep taking them down completely and putting them up every day.

“It takes about 20 minutes each time,” he said.

“We had a paddling pool out there once too and we were told we couldn’t have that out there either unless it was supervised the whole time.”

An East Kent Housing spokesman says the swings are in an area of communal garden.

“We have therefore advised the tenant that she can have them up provided her children are using them on a supervised basis, and that she must remove them when they are not in use,” he said.

“This is because the council’s insurance would not cover any accidents if the swings were to be used by others.”