Two clowns were told to leave Dungeness Nature Reserve after they were caught taking part in a photoshoot without permission.

The man and woman were spotted by site manager Owen Leyshon.

He posted a picture of the two on Twitter, adding: “Caught a pair of clowns doing an illegal photo shoot at Dungeness NNR this afternoon – quite literally.”

Mr Leyshon said the problem of "illegal" filming and photo sessions at the reserve was on the rise.

On Sunday, he was called out to three shoots, including a pop band who were trying to capture their album cover and a model on a private shoot.

"We do get a lot of illegal shoots. This year we’ve had 70 booked shoots. But we’ve also had between 50 and 60 illegal ones." Owen Leyshon

In most cases, he just asks them to move on.

He said: “We do get a lot of illegal shoots. This year we’ve had 70 booked shoots. But we’ve also had between 50 and 60 illegal ones. The numbers are going up.

“There some are genuine mistakes, people who don’t realise they need permission first.

“The peak time is Sunday, when no one is around.”

Dungeness is a private estate and a national nature reserve and permission is always needed for film crews and photographers. A commercial shoot costs £400.

Mr Leyshon added: “Usually with illegal shoots you do get a bit of hassle but I just explain they need to apply and fill the paperwork out first.

“It is to protect the residents. There is a need to differentiate between families taking pictures on a day out, and people who are there deliberately taking photos.

“Normally residents alert me to illegal ones. Two weeks ago I got a call to say a man in a white suit with a goldfish bowl on his head was walking about.

“I was in the office so went down and asked them to leave.”

Dungeness has long been a favoured location for filmmakers and photographers because of its striking, barren beauty and the towering figures of the two nuclear stations.

Over the years major names have used the locations, for films and TV programmes as well as pop videos and fashion shoots.

The cult 1981 film Time Bandits was shot there and the Stereophonics have been among the many bands to use the area for videos.

Meanwhile, model Claudia Schiffer has been there for a photoshoot and TV personality Peter Andre has used it for trailers for his reality series Peter Andre: My Life.

The estate, which was owned by the Paine family trust since 1964,

was sold earlier this month to French energy company EDF Energy.