Herne Bay Football Club have been branded "neighbours from hell" with residents claiming fans jump into their gardens and urinate on fences.

The comments emerged in response to a licensing application which saw Canterbury City Council allow a new £100,000 clubhouse to serve drinks until midnight every day.

But Lesley King, who lives close to the ground, says even with the opening hours as they have been, she has been forced to put up with bad behaviour.

“I have already experienced problems with noise when people are leaving at night," she commented on the council’s online licensing website.

“I have also had someone urinate up against the garden fence."

S.L. Ball, who lives a few streets away, added: “They are like the neighbours from hell.

“Our road is totally congested by their vehicles which are parked nose-to-tail – sometimes the parking is so bad it is difficult and dangerous to get in and out of your own driveway.

“I cannot understand why this is allowed in such a busy residential area at all and if you then add extended hours and more drinking into the equation it will become intolerable – don't you think as neighbours we have suffered enough?”

Club chairman Stuart Fitchie responded, saying: “Our activities are what they are but I wouldn’t want to make anyone feel that we are the neighbours from hell.

“I’m not aware of any anti-social behaviour of our fans, but I am very approachable and I’m more than happy to have a chat with anyone who has concerns.

“The new clubhouse is going to be a massively good thing for the club and for the local community; it doubles up as a place you can go and enjoy an affordable drink and some good food.

“A lot of pubs are going out of business. We would welcome people to come down game-day to spend some time at a safe, friendly place outside [their] home.”

Herne Bay FC petitioned the local authority to allow them to expand their opening hours from 7pm to midnight on weekdays and from midday to midnight on weekends, to 10am to midnight all week long.

However, even with the previous operating hours, neighbours have complained their gardens are floodlit with the “enormous extremely bright floodlights” virtually every evening and that the parking situation in the area is dangerous.

Another neighbour, Lexi Ball, said: “There have been multiple occasions of drunkenness, shouting abuse and fighting in the streets very late at night and that's with the existing conditions.

“On one occasion, someone had an axe taken to their car windscreen, if this were allowed to carry on into the early hours of the morning it would be appalling.”

The club was forced to renovate their clubhouse after storm damage last August caused part of the roof to fall in.

A statement on their website reads: “We are delighted to announce that starting immediately, we will be able to serve drinks in our newly-constructed clubhouse from 10am to midnight, seven days a week.

“What this also does is open up a whole new revenue stream for the club, enabling us to book the clubhouse out for a wide range of social events, including birthday, Christmas, and wedding parties, karaoke nights, community-based events, and so much more.”