A bid to ban disposable barbecues along 14 miles of Kent coast has been given the green light - despite being branded "draconian" by critics.

Canterbury City Council's enforcement officers will be handed the power to slap anyone caught using the single-use grills on beaches in Whitstable and Herne Bay with £100 fines from the beginning of April.

This comes after the plans were given the final sign-off by councillors last Thursday, in the face of concerns the new rules aren't even enforceable.

Tankerton Tory Neil Baker told colleagues: "A lot of the issues that affect people’s quality of life are happening quite late at night, so will we have enforcement staff out late at night? I assume the answer’s no.

“I do worry about whether we’re giving people an expectation that all is going to be well when we’re not actually going to be enforcing.”

Supporters of the move believe the continued use of the cooking equipment on the coast places revellers at risk of getting hurt. They point to a fire caused by a disposable barbecue 14 years ago that gutted four beach huts.

The ban - spanning beaches and promenades between Seasalter and Reculver - will come under the council's new public space protection order (PSPO), which will come into force at the beginning of the next financial year.

It will also outlaw anyone from setting open fires on the coast, being in possession of a catapult and the act of jumping off Whitstable Harbour and Herne Bay Pier.

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

During an authority-led consultation on the changes, 621 people opposed outlawing disposable barbecues, while 545 supported the move.

Whitstable councillor Clare Turnbull questioned at the meeting whether the ban was actually needed as "it's a very harmless" activity.

Labour's Val Kenny added: "It's like using a rather large sledgehammer to crack a nut.

“We don’t need lots of draconian rules."

But the authority's enforcement boss Cllr Ashley Clark defended the move by pointing to similar restrictions surrounding dog-fouling.

The senior Conservative noted his pockets are "full" with bags as he is "in terror" of receiving a fine while walking his pet.

“We know they work," he asserted.

"They work for example with the dog ones, where people have got to carry the means to pick up after their dog.

“My pockets are full because I’m in terror that I’m going to be stopped and asked if I’ve got a bag with me when I’m out with my dogs.

“We’re not going to solve the problems, but we’re going to go some of the way and that’s what it’s all about.”

An earlier draft of the PSPO would have banned anyone from swigging drinks from a glass bottle in the areas covered by the order - but this rule was later ditched.

At a previous meeting, authority leader Ben Fitter-Harding revealed a report examining plans to build communal barbecues along the towns' seafronts will be presented this year.

The proposals were put forward by Herne Bay representative Andrew Cook in a bid to ensure visitors can still enjoy a burger on the beach.

In all, 21 full council members voted in favour of the PSPO, while 10 voted against it and four abstained at the meeting last week.