It’s the first of April, and if you’ve been caught out by some of the county’s tricksters, you’re not alone!

The people of Kent have been up to all sorts of mischief for April Fool’s Day, with pranks including new McDonald’s packaging, reimagined tourist attractions and beaches in town centres. Here, we round up the best we’ve seen across the county.

‘Mediterranean of the South East’

Faversham Town Council announced it would be planting palm trees along Court Street and Market Place.

It also revealed plans for a small beach outside the Guildhall, a resident flock of parrots, and a dedicated piña colada stand (if only!).

“By summer, Faversham will officially be the Mediterranean of the South East!” the council said.

Eco-friendly McDonald’s

In Minster, Nik Mitchell - who has thousands of followers on his nature-focused page Get Wild - caused a stir when announcing that McDonald’s in the village was switching from paper to reusable plastic packaging.

It is a scheme already implemented for dine-in customers on the continent, but hasn’t quite made it to the UK yet.

He even went as far as to say the new red containers for fries would be fitted with ‘RFID’ tracking technology inside to prevent them from being lost or stolen.

So good was his prank that there were debates in the comments over its authenticity. But KentOnline has had the prank confirmed by the man himself.

Picture this

Photo-editing and AI have once again been a common theme in April Fool’s jokes this year.

In Canterbury, two local Facebook groups revealed a shiny new sign, embossed with their own initials.

Meanwhile, Dymchurch residents would have had quite the shock if they believed a local’s clever composition of a rhino grazing on the side of the A259.

And in Margate, the harbour arm’s lighthouse was apparently stolen under the cover of darkness thanks to one person’s editing skills, and an AI image of a new McDonald’s set to be built in its place was also shared.

Miniature steam trains to rival Branson

The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway Supporters' Association announced big plans to rival the likes of Virgin and bring cross-Channel trains to the county.

While I’m sure everyone in Kent is desperate to see the return of international services, maybe miniature steam trains aren’t the most practical solution.

The association said: “The potential deal will allow passengers to travel non-stop from the bustling, vibrant and exhilarating landscapes of Dungeness, via New Romney and Hythe, to the likes of Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.”

Table tennis invented at Rochester Cathedral

Elsewhere, it was claimed an ancient manuscript had been found at Rochester Cathedral, which caused table tennis historians to question whether the sport had earlier origins.

Bosses at the historic building wrote: “Researcher Artie Innes discovered a previously unseen image during routine cleaning of the many historic books held at Rochester Cathedral.

“The image appears to show the monks gathered around a table engaging in a sport similar to modern-day table tennis.

“This would put the invention of table tennis forward by several centuries.”

‘Harbour Palm’

Folkestone Harbour Arm mocked up its brand new spidery look for the iconic tourist attraction and shared it with its followers today.

Bosses joked that it would feature five extra ‘arms’ coming off the end near the lighthouse.

It’s apparently set to open on June 31 2026, so keep your eyes peeled…

Pizza beer

Finally, in Halling, Moot Brew Co unveiled its latest alcoholic concoction - pizza beer.

The company said it was a collaboration with the most popular dish at its taproom - Bowzer.

It stated: “We’re really pushing the limits of what is possible here.

“Hints of hot honey, pepperoni, chorizo and Nduja! A proper meaty mouthful.”