FURIOUS traders in a picturesque town are fighting back against a new ban on shutters protecting their shops.
Store-owners in Maidstone, Kent, have been threatened with legal action by council chiefs ordering them to take down metal barriers from their front windows.
Maidstone Borough Council have accused them of breaking the law, as part of a new crackdown aimed at improving the appearance of the town centre.
Yet worried business owners fear they will be left more vulnerable to burglars and vandals or else struggling to get insurance - and also say the move could "kill" the town centre.
Council letters have been sent to five firms in the town's central Gabriel's Hill area, KentOnline reported.
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The traders have been told to either remove their metal shutters or apply for planning permission.
Among the protesters is Lisa Townend, 55, who has run Mr T's Jewellers - opened by her late husband - for the past 23 years.
She said: "I thought it was a joke at first - we've been here since 2000 and all of a sudden it's a problem.
"If I didn't shutters, I'd have no insurance. Is the council going to pay for my new glass windows when they get smashed every week?
"I just think, 'Get a life' - it's ridiculous expecting us to do this now."
She warned the crackdown could "kill the high street" and leave the town centre with more empty shops "which are worse than shutters".
Another trader described the shutters as their "first line of defence".
But a council spokesman said the targeted firms were "officially breaking the law" by having "external shutters within a conservation area and on listed buildings" without permission.
He added: "We are in discussion with these businesses about alternative options."
The council was approached by Sun Online for further comment.
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The authority has previously said it wants the new guidance to help restore "individualism" to the town centre in place of "bland, soulless shops".
Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, a county often dubbed the "Garden of England".
The new battle between traders and the local authority comes in stark contrast to a recent council ruling in another scenic town which has had locals celebrating.
Homeowners in the Welsh resort of Landimore in the Gowan Peninsula have successfully campaigned against four "blot on the landscape" luxury holiday chalets.
Not far away from Maidstone in Kent, however, residents in Folkestone have raised concerns about an influx of second home owners.
A "heartbreaking" eyesore in the same county's coastal resort of Margate has also been criticised.
Meanwhile, the people of of Rosslare Strand in Ireland say life is being made "unacceptable" by a morning rush of delivery trucks, low water pressure and excessive litter.
Tourists are being blamed for spoiling Clacton in Essex, while there has also been criticism of invading Londoners in the Cornwall resort of Padstow and of newbuilds in the North Wales town of Conwy.
Many protesters in Wales have long been furious about "second-homers" and AirBNB renters snapping up properties but barely spending any time themselves across the Severn Bridge.
