Families innocently collecting shellfish along the coast are being abused and harassed by people accusing them of illegal harvesting.

In some incidents, groups gathering small amounts of cockles, mussels and winkles on Thanet's beaches have been filmed by angry passers-by mistaking them for commercial pickers.

During the summer, concerns were raised about illegal harvesting and large groups taking more than the legal quota along the coastline.

But Cllr Helen Whitehead, deputy leader of Thanet council, says this has led to innocent families - simply collecting small amounts on trips to the beach - being subjected to abuse.

"I am aware that shellfish harvesting is being brought up very frequently on social media and I am aware there have been frequent reports of people collecting," she said.

"But a lot of the groups that have been reported are families - sometimes just two or three people.

"It's important to remember that they are actually allowed to collect within limits.

"If people do have concerns in terms of large groups collecting or very significant amounts being collected then it's right to report that.

"But we have had families filmed, we have had families treated very badly.

"We need to be very careful that we are not damaging the relations with particular demographics here because it's important to remember that people are allowed to do this and they have the right to do that without being filmed and without being harrassed if they are picking within the limits."

Cllr Whitehead's comments came during a meeting of the authority's overview and scrutiny panel, where she pointed out that people needed to remember the history of Thanet.

"It's a coastal area," she said.

"Historically this area has been used to collect huge amounts of shellfish - this used to be part of our economy.

"People collecting small amounts of shellfish for personal use is not going to damage our ecosystem or structure significantly.

"And it definitely shouldn't be a reason for people to interfere with others doing things that are perfectly legal."

Cllr Steve Albon, cabinet member for operational services, says authorities want to stop commercial picking, not families collecting shellfish for personal consumption.

"I think the main problem was that early on in the summer there were very large groups of people who came down and they were collecting the shellfish," he said.

"They were also cooking the shellfish in Barnes car park in Margate and it was being done on a commercial basis, not private.

"It was those issues that we were trying to stop, not general families who would just go down and want to pick up a few cockles or mussels, or whatever it may be."

In the summer, an appeal was issued by Thanet Coast: NE Kent Marine Protected Area asking people to be on the lookout for illegal shellfish pickers so it could gauge how much over-collection was happening.

It followed reports of gangs taking sack-loads away with them, particularly along the Margate coast, as well as in Grenham Bay, near Birchington, amid fears stocks were being depleted.

People living in Thanet said large groups were frequently seen pitching pop-up tents and windbreaks, then filling buckets and sacks with crabs, cockles and other shellfish.

Collecting shellfish is allowed, but only for personal consumption.

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