Disrespectful visitors to the Folkestone district have received fines of up to £100 for acts of anti-social behaviour - including one man who was discovered urinating in the coastal park.

Over the last few weeks, Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) has increased the number of officers patrolling its beaches and towns in an attempt to reduce environmental crime such as dog fouling and littering.

It comes as more and more people have visited the district in the wake of lockdown restrictions being lifted and a spate of good weather.

But with more visitors comes more mess and the council has had to deal with vandalism, fires and one massive and illegal beach cook out .

Now, the authority has revealed it has handed out fixed penalty notices to people to help combat bad behaviour.

In July, 30 fines were issued.

This includes one man found urinating in the Lower Leas Coastal Park despite the fact the toilets were open.

Dog walkers who failed to clean up after their pets and people dropping litter have also been fined.

People ignoring the seasonal dog restrictions - designed to allow everyone to enjoy stretches of the coastline - have also paid the price.

The council is now reminding visitors of their own personal responsibilities when it comes to looking after the environment.

Cllr Stuart Peall, FHDC cabinet member for enforcement, regulatory services, waste and building control, said: "Residents rightly want to live in a district with a pleasant environment that is clean and free from litter.

"Unfortunately there are some people who don't want to play their part.

"We have stepped up our environmental enforcement as we welcome more staycation visitors to Folkestone and Hythe this summer.

"Fixed penalty notices aren't there to make money - it's a deterrent as we just want people to treat our district and the environment with the respect it deserves."

Over the summer, FHDC also introduced new measures at the coastal park to tackle the littering and parking issues .

This included adding more bins, closing the car parks earlier in the day and banning barbecues.

However, security was still needed after people failed to take note of the new parking regulations and became trapped in the car parks .

And despite the barbecue ban, damage was still caused when a visitor decided to have a bonfire on the pavement in the park earlier this month .

Also this month, a huge clean-up operation was organised after thousands of people arrived at Greatstone beach, on Romney Marsh, for a party .

It was organised by a Croydon restaurant and descended into chaos when police were called and four officers were hurt, including one hit by a car.

The next day, 400 bags of rubbish were collected from the sand.

The organisers later admitted the party got out of hand and donated money to the Litter Picking Watch .

Read more: All the latest news from Folkestone

Read more: All the latest news from Romney Marsh