Council bosses have started completely stripping back Herne Bay's historic Avenue of Remembrance after they discovered the trees were diseased.

Workers at the city council were forced to fell half of the magnificent horse chestnuts last December when officials found the bleeding canker bacteria.

Hornbeams intended to maintain the look of the park were planted in their place, but many have snapped and the authority has now started stripping the avenue back again.

Fernlea Avenue resident John Holland wrote on the Herne Bay Chatter Facebook group: "This is what the council has been doing while we are all preoccupied with Christmas shopping.

"R.I.P Avenue of Remembrance."

Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies told KentOnline's sister paper the Herne Bay Gazette in October that the new trees will be protected by cages.

"We hope that by the centenary of the First World War in 2018, the new Avenue will have become well established...." - Rob Davies

He said: "The established trees in the Avenue of Remembrance are suffering from bleeding canker disease, a relatively new bacteria that the Forestry Commission states there is no effective treatment for. Sadly, they need to be removed.

"We have already removed some of the diseased trees and planted new ones in between some of the remaining trees.

"In doing so we were demonstrating our commitment to the Avenue, but it was a risky approach because there was no guarantee they would flourish in competition with the existing trees. Unfortunately this has proved to be the case on this occasion, and the new trees have also been subject to vandalism.

"We have therefore decided to remove all the trees and plant a whole new Avenue from scratch.

"These trees will be protected by cages to prevent vandalism. We hope that by the centenary of the First World War in 2018, the new Avenue will have become well established.”