A video showing a council worker on a ride-on mower "cutting bare ground" at a beauty spot has sparked outrage.

The "bonkers" footage also shows another member of staff wielding a strimmer near a bench at the top of Tankerton Slopes near Whitstable.

Canterbury City Council insists the work was "limited to only tackling continued weed growth".

The video posted on Twitter shows the mower's blades spinning and tufts flying up from the dry grass.

Another picture shared online shows a large tractor at the site.

Marine Crescent resident Jules Serkin, who shared the clip online, described the work as a "waste of money".

"I couldn’t believe it and I felt sick," she said.

"They can’t be cutting the ground, because it is bare ground.

"There was a tractor, a strimmer and another guy with a smaller tractor mowing the ground.

"It should not be mown and should be allowed to grow poppies and wildflowers."

She said watching the workers at Tankerton Slopes made her "feel like bashing my head against a wall".

"The thing with England is people want neat and tidy lawns," she added.

"If you go to a stately home, that’s what you expect.

"But this is the seaside and it should be wild and beautiful."

Mrs Serkin says she has campaigned for five years for the city council to stop mowing the Slopes and believes the grass should be able to grow to benefit wildlife.

"In winter, there are dog walkers and it is really popular," Mrs Serkin added:

"People visit from all over - particularly since lockdown when they discovered walking - and it is hugely valuable for families.

"We have a lot of elderly people in Tankerton and it is a retirement area as well as for families.

"It is an absolutely valuable area and we should be looking after it.

"I would like to see more areas left wild."

Tankerton councillor Neil Baker (Con) described it as a "crazy situation" and said the council needs to "radically" look at its mowing policy for the Slopes.

"In terms of that amenity space, it seems insane to be cutting it at that frequency for a few weeds - with the amount of grass that is growing close to zero," he said.

"I think most people would rather see weeds than the council mowing weeds.

"We are not talking about the entire surface being overtaken by weeds overnight."

He said the work was a waste of fuel - given how much energy prices are - and that one of the mowers could have caused a fire due to how dry the grass is.

"All you have to do is cause a spark with a blade," he said.

"It doesn’t take much to go up in flames and given we have a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the centre of the slopes, it is not worth the risk."

Canterbury City Council says its grounds maintenance work will not be dictacted by opinion on social media.

"The work seen on Tankerton Slopes last week was limited to only tackling continued weed growth, which carries on regardless of the warm weather due to their greater resilience," a spokesman said.

"Certain types thrive in these conditions and we want to keep these areas to as high a standard as we can.

"In general, however, there has been very little grass maintenance in recent weeks, and nothing like the usual schedule, for obvious reasons.

"Staff have been diverted to other appropriate grounds maintenance activities such as clearing fly tips.

"Our grounds maintenance work is kept under regular review and is adapted for the weather conditions. And for the record, it's certainly not based on the prevailing view on Twitter at the time."

At a full council meeting last month, it was revealed general amenity grass - such as the land at Tankerton - is cut about 18 times year, every 10 working days.

A "pollinator action plan" for the Canterbury district is due to be completed in late autumn.

It will look to promote appropriate land management prescriptions for priority sites. This includes planting species that support pollinators or seeking a relaxation in mowing regimes for the benefit of bees.

Two workshops have been held with local groups, council officers and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

The city council says management of grasslands for pollinators might not be a cheaper option in some cases, as it often requires different skills, labour and machinery.

It also says its environment team will engage with councillors, contracts teams and waste collection workers Canenco on the parts of sites identified as possible priorities for a change in mowing regime.

These will take into account budget constraints in the pollinator action plan.