Pranksters have posted fake notices around one Kent town warning people of bogus laws requiring people to wear seatbelts on public transport.

The hoax announcements have been put up at bus stops and at Folkestone West railway station - warning travellers they could face fines of up to £1,000 or even prison for failing to buckle up.

But transport firms operating buses and trains in the town have confirmed the A4 posters are merely the creation of a fertile imagination.

A spokesman for bus operator Stagecoach said: "We are aware that a number of hoax notices purporting to be from KCC, Stagecoach and Kent Police have been posted in the Folkestone area in recent days.

"The notices are entirely false and we have removed them where they are attached to bus stops or bus shelters."

According to the fake notice, as of February 13 "the wearing of seatbelts will become mandatory on all public transport nationwide, including bus, train and ferry services".

It goes on to say that only "individuals below the recognised breastfeeding age or otherwise disaffected persons" would be exempt from the requirement.

A spokesman for Southeastern said: "We can confirm that this is in no way authorised by Southeastern.

"We will be letting the station manager know about it to have it taken down immediately, as it would be considered flyposting."

The fake notices at public transport stops appeared just days after a hoax planning document was found pinned to a tree in Kingsnorth Gardens in Folkestone.

The sham poster purported to reveal proposals to cut the tree down and replace it with a plastic replica.

But Kent County Council (KCC) was quick to confirm the notice was in fact an elaborate hoax.