A train carriage once used to transport circus elephants has been added to a popular seafront restaurant.

Family-run Shesells Seashells has been based at Folkestone Harbour Arm since 2015, but staff say they regularly ran out of space.

They have now boosted their capacity by adding a historic carriage believed to have been built in 1938.

Having spent the last four years outside a fish and chip shop near Manchester, the carriage was rebuilt ahead of its move to the coast.

Owner Alison Abbott said: "After a successful couple of years in our previous set up, we had reached a point where we were regularly getting fully booked and having to turn people away.

"This new development has more than doubled the amount of seating we have available, crucially indoors as well as in a new private dining area outside.

"We can't wait to welcome people to our cosy new indoor space over the upcoming winter months, as well as embracing the full scale of this development once the warmer weather comes."

General manager of Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company, Paulo Kingston-Correia - whose company runs the harbour arm - is equally as delighted with the expansion.

He added: "It has been a pleasure to work with Alison and her team to develop this unit.

"As one of our longest standing tenants, her business is a real success story of our site - getting started from a small cart, growing to a couple of serve out kiosks and now running and operating an incredible seafood restaurant across three restored former railway vans.

"This is a well-earned investment and we look forward to seeing Shesells Seashells continue to be a great success."

Excluding Christmas, the restaurant will be open from 12pm until 3pm on Mondays, from 12pm to 6pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, plus from 12pm until 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays.