Dover District Council has hit back at an accusation that money for the town's tourism industry is being wasted.

Richard Mahony, 56, who has run both Dover White Cliffs Boat Tours and Dover Rover Bus Tours for more than 10 years and is a member of the White Cliffs Country Tourism Association, spoke out over the possibility of more Dover Castle improvements and the development of a cable car service from the Western Docks to the castle.

He said: "Everyone I speak to is sick of money being spent on the castle and nothing else.

"People who run the Crabble Corn Mill, the Transport Museum and other small attractions are crying out for money, but funding is always spent on the town’s one big attraction and not distributed to the whole."

But Cllr Frederick Scales, the district council's cabinet member for economy and special projects, said that improving the number of people visiting the area would help large and small tourist attractions.

"These exciting multi-million pound proposals were developed by partners and accepted by the Government after it invited bids for a range of projects to support economic regeneration in coastal areas through investment in culture and heritage," he said.