EXCLUSIVE Locals in seaside town where beloved grandfather died after being attacked by 'plastic gangsters' are terrified to leave their homes due to violent gangs of catapult wielding yobs

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Terrified locals in a quaint seaside town claim they are terrified to go outside after dark due to mobs of violent drunk youths who attack people and kill animals with catapults.
For generations, Herne Bay was a place of calm and serenity, where those in the twilight of their lives would retire to in comfort.
However locals say you're more likely to hear police sirens than seagulls these days due to 'feral' gangs of youths who have nothing better to do than cause chaos.
In the past year in the deprived town, pets have been killed and buildings vandalised by catapults. Chillingly, foreign students and residents, including pensioners, have also been attacked.
The anti-social behavior has become such a feature of the town that one resident has even claimed it was a factor in his father's early death.
Pensioner Raymond Foreman, 73, died early this year after he was attacked by a gang of teenagers along the seafront.
The gang kicked away his walking stick and left him writhing on the floor in agony after he fell against a wall and tore tendons in his back.
He lay there in pain for thirty minutes until help finally arrived and was bed bound until his death just two months later.
Locals say they are being menaced by mobs of violent drunk youths who attack people and kill animals with catapults
His distraught son Andrew, 31, is adamant that his death was a consequence of the attack, telling KentOnline: 'They put my father in an early grave.
'They did damage that was inconceivable. Even if it was his time soon, which it didn't feel like it was, they hit the fast forward button on that ten-fold.'
When MailOnline visited the quiet coastal idyll this week we found residents living on the edge.
Following a packed meeting attended by hundreds last month, police pledged to get more officers on the street to deal with the problems.
But some locals say they haven't yet seen the effects.
Taxi driver Ivan Rachev spends his working day driving through the worst areas and says he has seen it all.
He said: 'In the evening there's drunk people everywhere'. We work in this area; I'm a taxi driver and he's a delivery driver and most of the problems are coming from young people, the teenagers, they're making the most trouble.
'They're breaking the windows there, they're fighting, they're stealing bikes.'
Pensioner Jim Williams, 75, told us he no longer goes out at night.
He said: 'We don't really go out much at night, but we have heard that there's a lot of stuff going on.'
'The only thing is they go up and down on their little bikes and scooters, and there's no police about, we haven't even got a police station here; it's just an office, and that's it. Nobody tells them off, no one takes any notice.'
'They can do what they like and they know they can, and they just think it's funny. They're of an age when they think they can.'
It isn't just criminal damage that has residents down - some of them have been attacked.
Last month a distraught homestay host revealed that her young foreign guests were being routinely racially attacked in the town.
Kathy Atwal told the BBC her students had 'rocks and stones thrown at them.'
She said: 'The local children are using catapults against them and basically they're just causing an awful lot of trouble.'
Outraged local Nick Seymour believes this abuse and attacks like it are endemic of a 'sickness' in the youth.
He said: They're just showing off in front of their mates. Of course it's really sad when they're killing animals. It's a sign of a sick society.'
'I work in a school, so I think it's often the breakdown at home, but then in school if they don't have normality, then a lot of screentime is making things a lot worse, so they're influenced by the group, and the group now dictates what they see online as well, and there's no filters it's the wild west!
'It's the screentime, that's the huge problem. It's what they're seeing on TikTok, and they egg each other on.'
This peer pressure has led to shocking incidents, including the murder of one duck which has left the community scarred.
One woman, who preferred to stay anonymous, revealed: 'They killed a duck. But there was a girl there, that's what I can't understand. When it's boys, it's not such a shock, but when it's a girl, well girls are normally softer and love animals. The girl was in the gang.
'If I saw lots of youths in that park I wouldn't go in there.'
Roger Herring, 78, agreed, saying he had seen children kill birds in trees.
Police 'understand effect of behaviour'
Kent Police Chief Superintendent Rob Marsh said: 'We are committed to tackling antisocial behaviour in Herne Bay and the surrounding coastline.
'It can blight a community and we are under no illusion of the effect that the nuisance behaviour caused by a minority of people can have on others. People deserve to feel safe.
'Our commitment through our dedicated teams of beat officers and PCSOs in Herne Bay and listening to local concerns has resulted in a 22 per cent reduction in the number of antisocial behaviour reports made in the last 12 months.
'While that is positive, we are not complacent and will continue to work to identify offenders and take action against them.
'People can expect to continue to see high-visibility patrols and the use of additional police powers, such as Section 34 dispersal orders where necessary.
'Between Friday 27 June and Sunday 29 June 2025, a total of 16 people identifying as causing issues in Herne Bay town centre were dispersed out of the area by using the order.
'They were unable to return for 24 hours and would risk arrest if they did so. Children were returned back home and parents were spoken to about their behaviour.
'Our officers work hard to ensure Herne Bay remains a safe place to live and visit.'
He recalled: 'They come and catapult them out the tree, and they're floating on the ground and they just repeatedly firing at them.
'I've seen it happen. If I was fitter, I'd down 'em.' 'Why are they doing it? Because they can get away with it. There's no punishment nowadays. People don't get prison sentences these days.
'The doves, you know, the pigeons, because they can't take off that quick. And when they're on the ground, with an injured wing, they're just shooting into them.'
Cafe owner Mitch Nejni, 49 agreed, saying: 'To be honest with you, we've been in Herne Bay for 25 years and there's always been this problem. So I think the problem stems from the fact that it was never addressed before and it's just gotten worse and worse and worse.
'We own the bar next door, but that's older, it's not kids. That's more over 21.
'Do you know what it is? It's kids being kids more than anything else. And I do understand it's gotten out of hand, but that's because of many years of lack of police presence, lack of police doing anything.
'Girls in Herne Bay are much worse than the boys. I was stood here and there were two girls walking down in school uniform, they must have been about 12. She's drinking a can of Redbull, and she's walked straight past me and she's thrown it onto the floor.
'She's finished her drink, she's scrunched it up and just dropped it. So I said 'excuse me, I said to her, you just dropped that.' Got back 'oh f**k off, why don't you just f**k off, you know. .
'It's society, that's all it is – they've given too much protection to these kids and I think they're taking liberties with it. So you can't enforce any discipline on them. So if this is what we want to do and we want to give these rights to youngsters and kids, then that's what you're going to get.
'Kids from London come down and see the gangs here and call them plastic gangsters. They're plastic, they're just chucking stones at ducks, like a duck can't fight back.
'In London, we live by set rules, whereas in Herne, there's none of that, they don't understand how to be a gangster. You wouldn't get kids in London chucking stones at ducks. It's just silly, really silly.'