toynlet

Hi Hoping someone can advise me as I am a complete DIY novice. Moved into my first house and trying to breath a bit life into the kitchen. I've got a wooden worktop that needs a bit of TLC as the previous owners didn't think twice about putting hot pans on it and have left various scorch marks all over it. I tried to sand it down using a standard orbital sander but it's not really worked that well. Should i try to get a more powerfult belt sander to give it another go? Any suggestions which one to get (bearing in mind my budget is about £80-£100) or should I just look to get another worktop? If i decide to keep the worktop, how many coats of linseed oil is recommended? Thanks for your help!!