A Kent beach was littered with laughing gas canisters on the hottest day of the year amid a police crackdown in the area.

Dozens of metal nitros oxide capsules were discovered strewn along the sand in Margate on Saturday morning.

Police seized 15 large catering-sized cannisters from one group and a quantity of drugs from other beachgoers, with the assistance of a sniffer dog.

Those using laughing gas were educated on the drug’s potential dangers, while five people with cannabis, one with ketamine and another with cocaine had their contraband confiscated, police said.

It comes after people flocked to the coastline on the UK’s hottest day of the year so far.

SInce then, many have taken to social media to speak out about antisocial behaviour on the beach.

Margate Main Sands, which has more than 2,000 followers on Twitter, tweeted: “Very sad to see the first hot day of the summer and a beach full of people with nitros balloons.

“More sad to see the new fence at Kiddies Corner has been smashed over night.”

Officers patrolling the beach were part of ongoing work to promote and encourage a safer summer across the county, police said.

Inspector Jim Woodward of Thanet Community Safety Unit said: “During the summer months, there is an increase in people visiting Thanet and most do so without any issue.

“However there can be a minority who cause problems for others which is unacceptable.

“We recognise the impact anti-social behaviour can have on residents, visitors and businesses so people can expect to see our officers, including our new community beat PCs, out in areas where there is a high number of people, to provide reassurance and be on hand if any issues arise.

“Already during a foot patrol on Saturday, officers worked quickly and robustly to confiscate large catering-size cannisters of nitrous oxide from a group of people and educate them on the risks of using the gas recreationally.

“We will continue to work with the Thanet District Council’s beach enforcement officers to support them if needed in keeping the beaches safe.

“If anyone has concerns regarding anti-social behaviour, I encourage them to flag it in person to our officers or report it via our website.”

Last April, Thanet District Council outlined ways they were planning to stop “extreme littering” on the Isle’s beaches.

It comes after back to back summers of “shocking scenes of piles of rubbish and litter” left strewn across the beaches.

In 2020, a massive £186,000 was spent on tackling waste on the coastline, which included a one-off £61,000 Covid support payment.