Travellers have pitched up near two major superstores just outside a seaside town.

Five caravans are parked at the end of Reeves Way in Chestfield, Whitstable, close to Sainsbury's and B&Q.

Last week Canterbury City Council announced it had softened its policy on illegal traveller camps due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Travellers will no longer be evicted from unauthorised encampments on the authority's land - as long as they adhere to a strict set of rules.

They include not going to the toilet in the open, burning rubbish or driving on footpaths.

The council's decision comes as local authorities have been asked to allow travelling families to stay on suitable sites.

It is believed this will allow them to access healthcare and reduce the potential spread of the virus.

The city council was last year granted an injunction that enables it to move travellers off its land without first having to go to court.

But the arrival of Covid-19 has forced the local authority to temporarily change its approach in order to follow the national guidelines.

In return, the families are asked to agree to a strict set of rules governing their behaviour that apply to anyone using council land. If they do not, they will be evicted by the local authority and police.

They are:

• Not to cause any damage to the site
• Not to drive vehicles along any footpath
• Not to burn, dump or tip rubbish or trade waste on any part of the site
• Not to go to the toilet in the open
• Not to abuse, intimidate or harass anyone near the site
• Not to carry out or permit any form of anti-social behaviour
• Government rules on the coronavirus must be followed at all times

Travellers arriving on the city council's land will be directed to the motorhome area of the New Dover Road park and ride sites if their presence is causing a problem.

City council chief executive Colin Carmichael said: “If this crisis has taught us anything, it is that those who are not normally vulnerable and in need of help quickly become so because of the disruptive power of the virus."

The travellers in Reeves Way are understood to have arrived before the city council announced its new policy.

Read more: All the latest news from Whitstable