Beach hut owners could be banned from renting their shacks out following complaints about noise and anti-social behaviour.

Canterbury City Council is considering stopping people subletting all together in areas such as Whitstable, Tankerton and Herne Bay.

Some owners fear they could be forced to sell their seafront huts if the proposals get the go ahead.

But others say something needs to be done to tackle the current "abhorrent" situation - amid reports of neighbours being reduced to tears due to reckless behaviour.

As well as an outright ban, the council is also considering alternative measures such as only allowing subletting at certain times of the year, or stopping stag and hen parties from renting huts.

Jo Youll, who runs beach hut hire company Whitstable Dreams, said banning owners from renting out their shacks could have a huge impact on the town's tourism.

"It is inclusive because not everyone can afford to buy a beach hut," the 46-year-old said.

"I think it’s elitist and tourism is going to drop because when they come here they are supporting local establishments when we are all still recovering from Covid."

She says "generally everyone is very respectful" and she has had no complaints about those renting her hut.

"It will have an impact on my income," she added. "The cost to have it and the ground rate is not cheap.

"I will have to rethink what I do and will be forced to sell it."

Colin Barker, who sublets his beach hut in Herne Bay, is also against the proposals.

"If there are complaints, they should tell us so we can rectify them because we have no idea what they are," the 63-year-old Whitstable resident said.

"As far as I’m aware, none of my neighbours have complained.

"Why ban it without giving us the chance to work with them and introduce rules and regulations so we can sublet?"

He said his ground rent has increased from about £200 - when he bought the hut in 2015 - to about £600, which includes £88 for a subletting licence.

And like Ms Youll, he could be forced to sell his beach hut if the plans go ahead.

"I started letting mine last year because the rent has gone up so much and I need to cover it," he added.

“It’s £600 a year, which is not cheap, and it’s a luxury if you’re not using it all the time.

“I need to cover the rent but if I can’t I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Andrew Cook, who runs the Herne Bay Beach Hut Owners Association, supports an outright ban on renting huts out.

He has received complaints about visitors boozing, leaving litter and barbecues on the beach, and being noisy.

"I would say to anyone who wants to make money out of their beach hut to sell it," he said.

"They have probably bought it for £10,000 and it’s now worth £30,000.

"Let someone else who is going to use it properly have it.

"I have no patience for anybody letting out the beach huts."

He believes it is "totally wrong” for people to make a business out of a beach hut and said the experience of some owners is "abhorrent".

Speaking about those renting the shacks, he added: "They have no beach etiquette and they’re not local so they don’t care.

"If you have a hut next to one of these, that could happen every Saturday and Sunday of the holiday season.

"People have been in tears over it as they have to go home because they can’t cope with what’s happening around them."

A spokesman for the council confirmed the authority has received an increasing number of complaints since last year about the noise and anti-social behaviour caused by some large groups who are renting beach huts from others.

"Because of this we have asked beach hut owners for their views on what changes we should make, if any, to the terms and conditions around subletting huts," they said.

"Those changes could include stopping people subletting altogether, only allowing subletting at certain times of the year or times of the day, restricting the types of groups hiring beach huts to couples and families but banning stag and hen parties or limiting the number of people allowed to enjoy a beach hut when it is rented out by someone else.

"As some of the huts are clearly being sublet as part of a business, we are also asking owners whether we should increase the fees for subletting in order to benefit the council taxpayer.

"No decisions have been made and the feedback we receive will be considered by councillors to inform our next steps."