Police figures for Sandwich show that The Butts area has the worst levels of crime in the town.

In particular, Tannery Lane has the most crime, according to the Police UK website.

From January to April 2015, it has seen a total of 25 crimes – compared with Market Street, which had four crimes in the same period, and New Street, which had none. Incidents reported ranged from thefts to violent assaults.

There have also been incidents in The Butts area since the website’s statistics were updated.

On Friday, June 24, drug paraphernalia was seized from a group of teenagers at Sandwich Cricket Club.

PCSO Ian Norton and Special Constable Michael Noden were on patrol when they came across the youths and discovered cannabis grinders on the ground where they were, and confiscated them.

“There were toilet rolls, beer cans and food containers. They also had a fire and it looked like they had used branches from the trees there." - Emma Taylor.

A police spokesman said: “I understand they were searched but were not in possession of any drugs.”

There have also been problems with littering and camping at The Butts, which has been reported to the district council.

Emma Taylor, from Sandwich, was on her morning run on Saturday, July 4, when she spotted a tent, the remains of a camp fire and lots of rubbish near the play park.

She said: “There were toilet rolls, beer cans and food containers. They also had a fire and it looked like they had used branches from the trees there. I didn’t have time to look too closely, but there was a lot there.

“I have been back this afternoon but it’s all cleared up, although the pop-up tent they were using was still abandoned.”

District council contractors visited the site on Monday as part of routine waste clearance and removed the tent.

A Dover District Council spokesman said: “This is a public open space, and we would remind everyone that camping is not allowed in this area.”

Mayor of Sandwich Cllr Paul Graeme said he has reported anti-social behaviour and littering to the police.

He said: “They were aware of things going on and promised they were looking into it.

“There was a spate of rubbish on The Butts and they were investigating that problem. People have started camping there and a lot of people are lazy. I don’t know whether it’s malicious or just careless, or maybe both.”

The mayor was surprised to learn that Tannery Lane had the highest recorded crime.

He said: “It’s a nice area of Sandwich. It’s not a road where people would walk through.”