A trial using peach pits to cover the ground in a children’s playground on the staunchly Protestant former island of Urk has failed because the children used them as missiles, local media reported.

The pits will now be removed, Urk local council said. The council thought peach pits would be more sustainable than sand until it became clear they were being used as projectiles.

Local broadcaster Omroep Flevoland had a look around the play area involved and found peach pits spread over a large area, including the grass and the skate park.

“Children are just about killing each other with them,” one of the children told the broadcaster. A group of boys admitted they used the pits to pelt each other with. “They pack a bit of a punch,” one of them said.

The pit pelting led to councillors to question Urk officials about why this kind of material had been chosen. The council subsequently decided the trial had not been a success and that although the peach pits “offered extra play potential” they were not the most adequate of surfaces.