'The heart has been ripped out': How a Kent seaside town is fighting a 'huge' ... trends now

Furious residents and business owners in one of Britain's most famous seaside towns say Airbnb properties are 'destroying' the area.

They are calling for a boycott of the holiday letting company in the Kent town of Ramsgate, which they claim is leaving vast sways of the area empty, pushing locals out and driving up property prices.

And they believe it has led to a large reduction in tourist numbers in the town, which has been a thriving destination since the 19th century and has 42,000 people living in it.

The situation is so severe they even fear thousands of locals will be gone in three years.

New flats valued at £500,000 have been 'taken over' by people renting them out for Airbnb - many from London.

The average price for an Airbnb in Ramsgate is around £70 - £120.

In Ramsgate there are 866 homes available on Airbnb - compared to 21 flats available on Rightmove with the option of long-term lets.

Retired Cindy Penney, 69, said: 'The town is now totally full of DFL - which stands for down from Londoner's.

'It is shocking what has happened. I have lived here 50 years and I simply do not recognise it anymore.

'It's just holiday rentals through Airbnb. It's sad. This used to be one of the most thriving seaside towns in the country.

'There's fewer and fewer locals than ever before. It's changed for the worse.

'And of course the more people that come down from London, the more likelihood is property prices will increase.

'That makes it much harder for working local people who contribute to the local economy but then struggle to get on the property market.'

Builder Michael Watkins, 54, said the problem has become 'huge' and said it was 'destroying' the area.