Canterbury City Council has deposited 150,000 tonnes of material dredged from the sea bed off the Isle of Wight and Hastings in the Whitstable area.

Alex Perkins, Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said the beach now resembled "the surface of Mars".

Ted Edwards, engineering manager for the Conservative-run council, said work was planned to cover the sharp flints.

"We can't put too finer material at Whitstable or it will just go away in no time. It has to be fairly coarse to stay there as a coastal defence," he said.

The material includes bits of flint which aren't ideal for kids walking on the beach Nick Dewhurst

"We are bringing in more material tonight which is rounder which will cover the sharp flints."

He said he realised the beach was an important leisure facility but stressed sharp flints could not be sifted from dredged material.

The situation was the same when the current beach was laid in 1989 and the flints rounded-off over time, he added.

Nick Dewhurst, coordinator of the Whitstable Beach Campaign, said it was important for one of the town's best features to be kept in a condition which allowed people to enjoy it.

"The material includes bits of flint which aren't ideal for kids walking on the beach," he said.