School leavers left vodka bottles, beer cans, broken glass and used condoms behind after an end of exams party.

The 16-year-olds from Homewood School in Tenterden took up residence on the football field at the recreation ground in the town on Friday afternoon.

It was the last day of school for the Year 11s who had just finished their GCSEs but the mess they left behind provoked an angry reaction from Tenterden residents, who vented their fury on Twitter and Facebook.

Tenterden Town Council's groundsman was helped by deputy mayor Cllr Sue Ferguson to remove sackfuls of rubbish ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday, when residents were gathering at the recreation ground to celebrate the work of servicemen and women.

Deputy town mayor Sue Ferguson said: "The mess on the field was appalling there was broken glass, bottles of vodka and used condoms to clear up."

Sally Lees, principal of Homewood School, said she was "very disappointed" about the incident and issued an apology.

She added that the students had worked hard for their exams and she hoped "the thoughtless and disrespectful behaviour of a minority of our students" would not "cause people to judge either them or their school unfairly".