Plans to truck thousands of tonnes of shingle from Dungeness beach for sea defences elsewhere will devastate the local community.

That is according to residents opposing plans by EDF Energy and the Environment Agencyto used it to protect the power station and the eroding east Sussex coast.

Last night, more than 100 people attended a public meeting in Lydd to voice their concerns.

It is estimated more than 72 lorries a day will carry the shingle six months a year under the scheme being considered by Kent County Council.

Locals fear the large number of lorries and diggers that would pass their homes could turn away visitors.

Resident Paul Schwartfeger said:“It could really cause disruption to the area if plans get the go ahead.

"It would mean enormous diggers and trucks driving up and down the beach carting shingle around back and forth every day.

“The area is a designated National Nature Reserve, Special Area for Conservation, Special Protection Area and a site of special scientific interest.

"Dungeness has all these designations because of its unique features.

"The plans will make the area really unpleasant for residents and it will impact tourists coming to Dungeness too."

Kent County Council official Angela Watts told the meetingan online petition raising concerns over the issue had reached 2,015 names by December.

But Terry Preston, chairman of the campaign group Defend Our Coast, said the shingle movement was needed to protect the marsh from flooding and safeguard the power station site.

He said: “The majority of people here want a third power station and that has to be defended. This application is not perfect but it is all we’ve got.Unless all the marsh is protected all of it is in danger.”

Consultation on the application continues.