A council has urged people to stay at home after a picnic bench was damaged as people had a barbecue on it.

Folkestone & Hythe's local authority posted a picture of the charred table at Lower Leas Coastal Park, in Lower Sandgate Road, Folkestone, and asked visitors to wait until lockdown was over to have one.

It said: "People should be staying at home unless absolutely necessary right now – having a BBQ in the Lower Leas Coastal Park just doesn’t fit into that category.

"Leaving a picnic table in this state just makes it ten times worse – ruining something everyone should be able to enjoy once this is over.

"Our officers are now having to divert resources to fix this completely unnecessary issue.

"Do the right thing on behalf of all the emergency services, particularly the NHS staff working hard to save lives.

"Follow the national guidance – and definitely don’t have BBQs in public places right now. That’s all."

The council finished by adding how the park has a dedicated area for BBQs to use when things return to normal.

Many residents were left angered by the anonymous peoples decision.

One woman commented: "It makes me so happy that I'm not seeing my girls or my grandchildren, but these morons can still have a BBQ."

It comes days after police revealed a further 53 people were fined for flouting lockdown rules in Kent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month one couple were spotted on Folkestone beach cooking sausages.

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