New plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour on beaches will see anyone caught with glass bottles or having a barbecue face a £100 fine.

The sanctions will also apply to overnight camping, carrying catapults and dangerous cycling or jet-ski riding along a 14-mile stretch of seafront.

Similar tough rules are already in force at a number of parks and beauty spots across the Canterbury district.

But now city council bosses want stronger enforcement along the coastline, from Herne Bay to Whitstable.

The bottle ban follows reports of swimmers finding shards from smashed glass in their feet.

Cllr Ashley Clark, the authority’s lead member for enforcement, insists it is not an attempt to “kill fun” but a bid to stop “our beaches being covered in glass”.

“We’ve had numerous complaints from people who try to walk on the beach and find broken glass all over the place,” the senior Conservative said.

“We don’t want that. It’s got to stop. People get injured – I and others have been cut by glass at the beach – and animals get cut.

“And when certain people see bottles, they go around smashing them. We’ve been having yobs having bottle-smashing competitions.

“We don’t want to kill fun. We want people to use the beach without being endangered. It’s limited specifically to the beach because that’s where the problem is and people tend to have bare feet.”

The new rules will prohibit anyone from being in possession of any glass bottle on any beach on the district’s coast, unless the bottle is being carried in transit.

The clampdown is part of the city council’s proposed new public space protection order (PSPO) which is set to launch this summer and cover the coastal strip between Seasalter and Reculver.

If given the green light, the lighting and discarding of disposable barbecues on the seafront will also be outlawed.

Meanwhile, anyone carrying a catapult in the area will also be liable for a fine, as council bosses look to put a stop to the district’s wildlife being targeted by thugs.

“People do attack animals. We get footballers who go around kicking cats,” Cllr Clark added.

“We claim to be a nation of animal lovers, but I’ve seen some pretty awful things.

“I’ve seen people catapulting at bottles and seagulls on the beach.

“Quite frankly, if they’re on a beach, they’ve got no business with a catapult.”

This comes after a string of incidents in 2019 that saw ducks along the Stour in Canterbury being targeted by youths wielding slingshots and throwing stones.

The new PSPO will also outlaw the lighting or fuelling of open fires, overnight camping, interferences with wildlife and dangerous bike and jet-ski riding on the seafront.

Fixed penalty notices of up to £100 could be issued to anyone taking part in the prohibited activities, while miscreants brought to court for breaching the order would face being fined as much as £1,000.

In a newly-published report, city council bosses say: “We want to make residents feel safer and happier about where they live, and make sure the district continues to be a great destination to visit.

“The PSPO outlines measures to tackle anti-social behaviour and issues that have been identified in our coastal areas which are detrimental to quality of life.”

Members of the authority’s community committee were set to decide this week whether to go ahead with a six-week public consultation, starting on March 28, on the planned PSPO.

There had been concerns prior to the meeting that a clause in the order banning the “removal, disturbance or interference of any wildlife” could spell the end for crabbing along the district’s coastline.

But authority chiefs have confirmed they will change the wording of the restriction to prevent the popular pastime from being impacted.

The new restrictions were first mooted two years ago, but were later put on the back-burner as the council instead prioritised a barbecue and glass bottle ban across 20 green spaces last September.

The PSPO is expected to be in force by the end of July.