Green councillors have come under fire for removing armrests from benches to make them more comfortable for homeless people to sleep on.

The group, who recently took control of Norwich, unveiled a crackdown on ‘anti-homeless architecture’ as one of their first major policies.

It has already been enacted in the city’s Mousehold Heath, which is popular with dog walkers.

But critics branded it ‘bonkers’, warning it would create more homeless hotspots in the area as well as making it more difficult for older or disabled people to use the benches.

The initiative follows national Green leader Zack Polanski announcing earlier this year that illegal migrants would be given a free house and paid a wage with no requirement to work under the Green Party's immigration policy.

Opponents to the Norwich scheme include Sam Burgess, who wrote online: ‘Love this, you’ll easily help a refugee but when it comes to our own people you amend a bench to make it comfortable. Clown party!!!’

Eric Hewson commented: ‘Why not put them in a hotel or help them get back into full time accommodation with support?’

Shelli Higgins said: ‘If we can support people from all over the world as homeless, why can’t we do the same for our own?’

And Sarah Smith added: ‘There are surely more elderly or those that need the armrest to help get up from a sitting position, than there is homeless.’

Claire Morris said: ‘Sounds about as useful as polishing the silverware on the Titanic after it struck the iceberg.’

Among dog walkers who use the heath is Andy Hawkes, who said: ‘You don’t want people lying around everywhere. You’d rather they were housed somewhere.’

Stephen Wright, 57, added: ‘It could be very intimidating for someone like my wife to come over and walk the dog on her own… There’s got to be something better than a bench.’

Susan Smith, 73, pointed out there had been a large camp of tents with homeless people in the area last year behind an American diner called Zak’s which overlooks the heath.

She said: ‘They need houses, not benches. There are often tents in this area.’

The policy was unveiled in an Instagram video fronted by Green councillor Jenny Knight, the council’s cabinet member for healthy neighbours, who was shown walking on Mousehold Heath.

‘So, what’s different about this bench?’ she asks in the footage.

‘I made a request that we remove the anti-homeless architecture along Mousehold and this is the result – a bench everybody can sit on.’

But Labour group leader Carli Harper dismissed the scheme as ‘frankly bonkers’ and called on the Greens to focus on finding accommodation for rough sleepers, rather than park benches.

‘I can only imagine the next step is addresses for benches, so rough sleepers can order Deliveroo,’ she said.

‘This out of touch nonsense is exactly why the Greens are not fit to lead this fine city.’

It is not clear whether and when the scheme will be extended to other benches in the city.

Cllr Knight and group leader Lucy Galvin failed to respond to requests from the Mail to comment about the unpopular initiative.

Cllr Knight triggered fury in February when it emerged she was one of two Green members who allowed controversial plans for a former Debenhams department store to be demolished and replaced with hundreds of flats to scrape through by four votes to three after they left a planning meeting early.

In a statement to a local paper, she said of the bench scheme: ‘Norwich City Council’s public spaces will be welcoming and accessible for everyone on our watch.

‘Bars were removed from a small number of older benches at Mousehold Heath and we’re looking into repurposing them.’

The group’s ‘priority in preventing homelessness is helping people into safe, secure accommodation’, she added.

Zack Polanski’s plans to give illegal immigrants free homes emerged in policy proposals unearthed by the Mail in February which showed he was also planning to 'abolish' immigration detention and grant a full amnesty to illegal migrants to stay in Britain, even if their asylum claims are rejected.

This followed other policies that included legalising drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin for recreational use.

PM Andy Burnham has vowed to end homelessness and earlier this month added £102million of funding from Angela Rayner’s housing department on top of £340million he had already announced to tackle the problem.

But he admitted it ‘may not be enough’ to fulfil his goal of getting all rough sleepers off the streets this Christmas.