The mayor of a small Dutch town has warned youngsters that they may end up in jail if they turn up for a Project X party on Saturday night.

Parents, said Cuijk mayor Wim Hillenaar, should make it clear to their children that a night in a Brabant police cell ‘is not the nicest way to spend time’, and that being arrested could impact on the rest of their lives.

The mayor issued the warning after a 15-year-old girl in the neighbouring village of Katwijk placed an open party invitation on Snapchat, which was copied and placed on Facebook as Project X Katwijk.

The posting went viral, with some 8,000 people indicating they would turn up at the party and a further 18,000 interested in going. The invitation has since been removed from social media.

Katwijk is a village of just 600 people, situated on the banks of the river Maas. Police say they are taking all possible scenarios into account in order to guarantee the safety of locals.

A similar incident took place in Haren in Groningen in 2012. Over 100 people were arrested when a girl advertised her 16th birthday party online and it became a mass internet hype. The bill for damages topped €1m.