Manama: Kuwait municipality has taken down 500 billboards and street signs that were put up to offer Eid greetings.

The signs and billboards were either unlicensed or obstructing the view, a municipality spokesperson said.

Kuwaiti businessmen and lawmakers have traditionally used billboards and makeshift signs in a bid to gain popularity in their constituencies.

However, the municipality this year repeatedly warned it would not tolerate "abuses of the streets" and would take action against those who broke the law.

Municipality officials said they took action this Eid against seven street vendors who had sold fireworks to children, Al Anba newspaper reported.

In other Kuwait City news, a 15-year-old Egyptian was killed in a traffic crash minutes after he arrived in the country to spend the Eid holidays with his parents.

The car was driven by the teen’s father who had picked up his wife and his two sons from the airport. The vehicle collided with another, which was carrying Kuwaiti passengers who were injured in the crash, the newspaper said.

In Bahrain, the police reported the death of a 44-year-old Bahraini former athlete who was stabbed in an argument with a friend in Hamad Town, about 20km south of Manama.

A 23-year-old suspect has been arrested in relation to the crime which took place on the first day of Eid, police said.

Motives for the stabbing were unclear, investigators said.

Traffic police said they recorded 37 minor accidents and no serious injuries on the first day of the celebrations.

A total of 3,565 cars had so far entered the country via the King Fahd Causeway, the 25km link between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, police said.

Up to 250,000 people, mainly from Saudi Arabia, were expected to visit the island during the five-day holiday.