Picturesque Victorian-style shelters regularly targeted by mindless vandals who “smash them to smithereens” could be removed from the seafront completely, a councillor believes.

The warning comes after thugs caused hundreds of pounds of damage by kicking out large panels and windows panes from one of the structures in Central Parade, Herne Bay, earlier this month.

Town councillor Andrew Cook says the local authority regularly forks out to repair the much-used shelter near the old Cookhouse restaurant.

The senior Conservative thinks council bosses may decide to uproot it, along with another positioned between the pier and the bandstand, if it continues to be bashed apart.

“I can see a situation where if they don’t stop smashing them up, then they’ll l probably have to take these two shelters down,” Cllr Cook explained.

“This happens to the two shelters to the east of the pier pretty much continuously through the year.

“They kicked the panels out, window panes out, the wood structure around it – it’s about as bad as it gets.

“To fix it, it’s going to cost £1,000 or more, if it’s not a complete write-off, then it could cost £7,000 to replace.”

Cllr Cook believes another way to end the scourge could be to transform the shelters into kiosks, reasoning they can be “boarded up” by vendors during the night.

“We will have to look at the options because mending and repairing vandalism is a waste of money,” he continued.

“It’s completely out of order. The problem is the teenagers doing this.”

Cllr Cook thinks the most recent attack has coincided with a spike in the number of incidents involving disorderly youngsters in the centre of the Bay.

He says his inbox has been inundated with reports of fights, a late-night fires on the beach and teenagers running across the Bandstand’s roof.

Locals took to social media to express their anger about the latest case of vandalism, with one suggesting a group of residents should patrol the seafront to deter hooligans.

“So many people are working hard to make the Bay a better place, and it’s such a shame we seem to take one step forwards before getting knocked back three by stupidity and mindless vandalism,” Cllr Cook added.

“Some parents need to check what their kids are up to.

“I’ve got complaints coming in about teenager antics and groups of them running amok.”

Canterbury City Council has been approached for comment.