Residents say the vandalism of temporary benches designed to brighten up a town town centre was "inevitable".

The pink and blue seating was placed in both Middle Row and Bank Street in Ashford in the summer, prompting mixed reaction from shoppers and business owners.

But just two weeks before they were set to be removed - the seating in Middle Row has been vandalised.

Heather Atthow, who lives in the town centre, noticed the benches had been damaged over the weekend.

She said: "Two of the benches had just been ripped up from where they'd been bolted to the ground.

"I thought they would probably be damaged at some point. I'm only surprised it took so long."

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) installed the benches in August as part of a pilot scheme.

The authority said if it was successful it could lead to further, more permanent features in the future.

While the benches have been welcomed by some in the town, others have not been so open to the seating.

Darren Hume, the owner of Tailor Made Mobility in Ashford, predicted his morning trade would fall by more than 30% because of the eye-catching seats outside his shop, covering parking spaces.

In August, he told the Express: "My customers use the parking outside to come in before 10am, and they have a three-hour window once they’re here," he said.

"There will be a 30% to 35% footfall reduction because a lot of customers park outside to show me products that need servicing."

Miss Atthow says she thinks any attempt to brighten up the town cannot be a bad thing.

"It's just a shame that our much-maligned borough council are getting so much stick for trying to make the town a bit nicer," Miss Atthow said.

"Both these ones in Middle Row and the ones in Bank Street have obviously divided opinions, especially over the loss of parking spaces, but looking out from my window directly over the ones in Middle Row they do brighten up the environment."

A spokesperson for ABC said: “The new, temporary seating in Middle Row (and Bank Street) has proven very popular since it was installed over three months ago.

"This is one of the first incidents involving the benches since installation and it was swiftly fixed and put back in place the following day.

"The majority of the public have enjoyed using the seating and we have received positive feedback on them via our Hello Lamp Post survey.

"The project comes to an the end this month as we prepare for the Christmas lights and tree installation but we will be discussing with businesses how we can develop other similar projects in 2023.”