Campaigners have criticised new signs warning people to keep off land formerly used by BMX bikers, dog walkers and children.

Chris Shaw, chairman of the Shorncliffe Trust in Folkestone, said the signs put up by developers give the wrong message to people wanting to access the cemetery, where Canadians who fought from the former barracks are buried.

The signs have gone up in Sandy Lane, Seabrook, where BMX bikers fear for the future of the tracks that have been used by riders for 15 years.

On Saturday Mr Shaw met some of the BMX riders, who use the informally named Dagger Trails.

He said none of them knew about the history of the area but that he wanted the biking to continue because “that’s what the veterans would have done”.

But developer Taylor Wimpey aims to remove them as part of the Shorncliffe Heights development at the former garrison site.

Homes are already being built in Horn Street as part of a new estate which will include an additional primary school.

Users of the track have taken to social media to campaign against its development. Mr Shaw said: “It is about engaging with local people and the community.

“If this was any other brownfield site it wouldn’t be a problem, but this is of major significance to thousands of Canadians who want to see where their great-grandfathers fought, they want to walk in their footsteps.”

He said it hasn’t been managed or protected for 60 years, which is why the BMX track started and locals use it to walk their dogs.

“It is quite a fitting legacy because if the men were alive, they would be riding the Dagger Trails,” he said. “It is a positive legacy and it is all about local people and local kids who have been running around this site for some 200 years.”

Mr Shaw’s idea is for the track to remain open and with the help of the trust to make it into a special site which will be managed by rangers.

A Taylor Wimpey spokesman said: “The land off Sandy Lane and the wider backdoor training area is privately owned by Taylor Wimpey and is therefore not open to the public.

"This has always been private land (previously owned by the MOD) and we have erected the signs to ensure local residents are aware that access is, and has always been, restricted.

"For their own safety, members of the public should use the designated public right of way bridleway or footpaths.

“Following completion of establishment works, some restrictions in this area will be lifted.”