A local authority is trying to designate beach huts as second homes in a bid to charge more council tax.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (BCP) wants to classify 344 huts near Christchurch as additional properties.

If the move is agreed next week, the council tax for each would soar from £618 to £1,236 a year.

Mudeford Sandbanks Beach Hut Association (MSBHA) has told the BBC that the second home rule is being applied to “a wooden shed with no mains connections or individual toilet facilities”.

It is illegal to stay overnight in the huts under long-standing by-laws.

Some beach huts in the area have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds but owners say they are not all rich.

The MSBHA says annual fees have “almost trebled to over £5,200” and one owner tells the BBC that she has to let out her hut to afford existing rent, fees and council tax.

A council spokesperson says the authority would raise about £211,000 from the move, and claims “it is a small amount.”

You can see the full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgje1pkr2po