Parents have been left “shocked” and “scared” after a rusty “five-inch” kitchen knife was found by children playing in a sandpit at a park.

The blade was dug up at Milton Creek Country Park in Milton Regis, near Sittingbourne.

Nelson Osborne and Zoe Bonner, who live in the town, had taken their children there on a play date on Tuesday (August 13).

Zoe’s 11-year-old daughter and Nelson’s daughters, aged six and three, were using a small metal digger with some other children when the knife was uncovered.

“We were chatting while our kids were enjoying a typical summer holiday play date when suddenly we heard a child yell out ‘We’ve found a knife’,” explained the mum-of-one.

“At first we thought it would be a toy knife until my daughter held it up and we saw it was a real one.

“We told them to put it down and took it out of the sandpit and put it aside using a shopping bag to wrap around the handle so that we didn’t contaminate [it]. We then handed it to the police.”

The 30-year-old cleaner and part-time model added: “I was shocked to see it in what is a family and community park where there’s not supposed to be any drugs or crime.

“So the fact a knife that big, around 5in, was found is really scary.

“It’s scary as well because the kids run around barefoot in there so they could have easily been hurt.”

The parents then called the police to see what they needed to do with the knife and were told to hand it in at Sittingbourne Police Station.

Police confirmed a knife had been handed in.

Nelson returned to the sandpit with his children the next day but kept a careful eye on them while using his foot to shift the sand as he talked to a KentOnline reporter.

While the reporter was in the park the pit was constantly busy with at least 15 children playing at one time.

The 36-year-old said that he visits the park around three or four times a week because his children love playing in the sand and on the slide.

He added: “I always tell my children whenever we go out anywhere to the woods to always watch out for sharp objects but I don't tell them to watch out for sharp objects in a sandpit.

“So it wasn't a nice feeling at the time when the kids dug up the knife right in the middle of the sandpit.

“It looked like it had been used because there was about an inch and a half worth of rust towards the front end and there was a lot of sand all embedded in the rust.

“It's concerning as a parent and it's disgusting finding that it was in the sandpit.

“In Sheerness, they rake the sandpit every morning so if they'd done something like that here that would be really beneficial so we would know it is safe.”

Swale council, which runs the park, said it was also “shocked” by the discovery and reassured visitors that it had “an extensive programme of cleansing” in place.

A Swale council spokesman said: “We are shocked by the discovery of a knife in the play area at the Milton Creek Country Park play area, and understand the concerns this has caused.

“We would like to reassure you that we have an extensive programme of cleansing in place, particularly daily raking in our three sand-surfaced play areas, to reduce the risk of incidents such as this occurring.

“There are also play inspectors that visit the play areas regularly to make sure they are a safe space for children to play in, in addition, we have a dedicated ranger on-site who also does regular inspections.

“We strongly condemn the reckless actions of whoever did this and will continue to monitor our play areas regularly.”