A water feature recently decorated with 8,000 handmade poppies has vandalised in an act branded "mindless" by a council.

The Madeira Walk waterfall in Ramsgate is full of foam after being targeted once again.

Thousands of poppies, all crocheted or knitted by a craft group ahead of the hundredth anniversary of the First World War ending, adorning the attraction in Albion Gardens are now covered in soap following the prank.

A spokesman for Thanet District Council said: "Unfortunately, due to the mindless behaviour of a small minority of people, the fountain at Madeira Walk has once again been subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

"What makes this incident particularly distressing, is the complete disregard and lack of respect for the recent installation of poppies to commemorate Remembrance Sunday."

The poppies are not thought be damaged in the long term, but some have needed to be reattached to the display.

The spokesman added: "The full clean up will take some time due to the scale of the foam and the difficulty accessing the fountain's water supply.

"As the fountain is made up of rocks and uneven surfaces, our team will only be able to access it once the foam has dispersed to a safe level.

"We sincerely hope we will be able to rectify the fountain before Remembrance Sunday this weekend."

Council officers are now considering implementing CCTV in the area as it is not the first time this has happened.

"Last year we received several reports of vandalism across Thanet and had to spend thousands of pounds of council tax payers' money on cleaning and repairs," the spokesman said.

"As this site has had instances of persistent anti-social behaviour, we are also considering installing CCTV - however this will mean spending more funds, which could be better used elsewhere.

"We would advise anyone who witnesses vandalism or other anti-social behaviour taking place to report any incidents to the police as soon as possible using 101 or if it is persistent, to our community safety team online."