A giant hole has appeared following the collapse of a car park at Margate's historic Lido.

A section of the seafront site has caved in due to heavy rainfall, laying bare a 36 square metre cavity.

The concrete surface of the car park gave way this morning, exposing a lower level of the former leisure complex.

Following the collapse, barriers have been erected to prevent members of the public getting too close to the hole.

The site is in the hands of administrators Duff & Phelps and was previously run by private firm Stour Side Investments.

It is not owned by Thanet District Council, yet the authority has installed the barriers.

A spokesman said: “The Lido car park is privately owned, however, the council’s building control team will be installing barriers in the car park and on the coastal path to ensure the safety of the public, and will be liaising with the owners.”

The abandoned Lido site has a long history stretching back 200 years, with the Clifton Baths constructed in 1824 and The Lido established in 1926.

It was turned into a large modern seaside complex with bars, cafes and restaurants on several levels and a large open-air swimming pool.

These buildings were constructed onto and over the remaining parts of the Clifton Baths, laid out over a series of terraces.

From 1938 the name was changed from the Clifton Baths to the Cliftonville Lido.

The site has also been home to a theatre, cinema and nightclub, but has stood largely unused since 1978.

Stour Side Investments bought it in 2014, and two years later put it up for auction with a guide price of £600,000, but it was later withdrawn.

In a bid to regenerate the complex, the Save the Lido group cleared debris last year and cash for a feasibility study was secured from the Coastal Revival Fund.

There have been attempts to breathe new life into the old site over the years, with father and son developers Ralph and Alistair Noel unveiling proposals for a 110-bedroom boutique hotel and 94 apartments.

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