Pet lovers can now treat their furry friends to a doggy afternoon tea thought to be the first of its kind in Kent.

The Inn on the Lake, in Shorne, near Gravesend, has launched the quirky idea after noticing customers were bringing their pets out for lunch and passing food under the table.

Hotel manager Laura White said: “We are solid with our afternoon teas and we see so many dog walkers around here, we knew there would be a demand.

“We have people come in with their dogs and they sit and wait for their owners to finish or their owners pass food to them.

“Sometimes we have had people buy sausages for their dogs while they eat lunch.

“We thought ‘what about the dogs?’ We have always been dog-friendly so this was just the next step up.”

The hotel manager said the idea first came about a few years ago but was delayed with Covid.

Laura added: “It has been a long time coming but we felt this year was the right time to launch it.

“We could not find anything like this in Kent.”

The full Doggy Afternoon Tea includes an apple and bacon cupcake with potato frosting, pork, lamb and vegetable meatloaf, a peanut butter and banana biscuit, ice cream and a dairy-free ”puppuccino”.

They also get an Inn on the Lake branded tennis ball all brought out on a typical tier stand. You can find out more here.

The new feature launched last month and Laura, who has been hotel manager for eight years, said they have been fully booked most weekends.

She said some people are even booking the afternoon tea solely for their dogs and not always alongside one for humans.

“The response has been incredible,” Laura added. “It is the best campaign we have run. We did not know it would take off as it has.”

The hotel is also donating 10% of proceeds to the non-profit organisation South East Dog Rescue, based in Greenhithe, near Dartford.