A children's playground had to be shut after mindless vandals smeared dog mess on the equipment.

The play area at Hythe Green was rendered out of action after the faeces was deliberately wiped on the slide and on the seat of the sea-saw.

Excrement was also dumped on the artificial grass and a bag containing waste was left on the soft ground at the park.

One visitor to the park who spotted the poo took to social media to air his grievances, saying: "This is what is wrong with our country, absolutely no respect.

"Just took our granddaughter to the park in Hythe and some moron has plastered dog poor all over the kids playground."

A sign positioned close to the fenced park stresses that dogs are banned from the area.

And the actions of the vandals could lead to potential dangers - contact with animal faeces can result in the infection toxocariasis.

NHS online warns: "Toxocariasis is a rare infection caused by roundworm parasites.

"Humans can catch it from handling soil or sand contaminated with infected animal faeces.

"Roundworm parasites are most commonly found in cats, dogs and foxes, and usually affect young children.

"This is because children are more likely to come into contact with contaminated soil when they play and put their hands in their mouths."

Symptoms include headaches, stomach pains and a cough. There is also a risk of seizures and potential vision loss.

Tips on prevention from the NHS include washing your hands with soap and warm water after handling pets or coming into contact with sand or soil, and avoiding letting children play in areas where there's a lot of dog or cat faeces.

Several complaints were made to Hythe Town Council following the vandalism last week.

Actions were made to immediately close the play park to avoid anyone coming into further contact with the dog mess.

The clear up, carried out by waste company Veolia, will come at a cost to the town council.

A spokesman for Hythe Town Council said: "We had several calls about the mess at the Hythe Green and we were appalled by it.

"Why would someone want to do this? It is outrageous and potentially dangerous.

"We closed the park immediately - meaning it was unable to be used at that time - and tasked Veolia with clearing it up.

"This will come at a cost to the council, although we don’t know the exact cost at the moment.

"But we were disgusted by this act."

The vandals remain unidentified.

A spokesman for Folkestone & Hythe District Council said: "Dog mess is bad enough when it is left on the ground but to deliberately smear it on children's play equipment, if that is what has happened here, is disgusting and irresponsible.

"Play areas like this are fenced off for a reason, to avoid the risk of children coming into contact with dog mess.

"We will always seek to identify the few irresponsible owners who do not obey the rules, and do not clear up after their pets.

"Anyone who sees someone leaving their dog mess behind should report it with as much information as possible, including a description of the dog and owner and the time it occurred."