Exasperated owners of a quiet village shop have shared CCTV footage of the ‘abuse’ they receive from local unruly yobs. Staff at the village shop in Medway, Kent, said they’re regularly on the receiving end of verbal abuse from local children, and they’ve had display stands thrown at them and even been threatened with acid attacks.

The family-run newsagents, which has been operating for nearly twenty years, has faced a surge in anti-social behaviour in recent months, the owners claim.

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The owner of the store, who wishes to remain anonymous, said despite reporting incidents to police they rarely show up at the store, a state of play which seems to embolden the attackers.

The shop owners claim one youth had threatened someone with a plastic knife, adding that it was only a matter of time before it was a real one unless they were deterred.

They said: “We’ve always had some kind of trouble, but I think it’s just got worse now because people can’t reprimand kids. There’s no discipline in schools and it just overspills onto the streets. They think they can do what they want, but they can’t just carry on doing what they’re doing.

“If you tell them it’s only two at a time to come into the shop, they don’t like that, and they still try and push their way in.

“If we say we’re going to ring the police, they will turn around and shout to you, ‘The police aren’t going to come out anyway’ – they have their answers for everything.”

Last year, CCTV footage from the store captured a disgruntled customer who was refused service due to his previous behaviour throwing bags of sweets and display stands at the owner before fleeing. The owners also claim he threatened to return with acid and was later charged by police.

They added: “Another time, someone was caught stealing multiple times from this shop, one day he tried to come in, and we saw him before he came to the door so we pushed him out.

“He rang the police and said we assaulted him, and officers actually came out.”

Earlier this month, cameras caught a group of children heckling workers and throwing water at them from outside the shop during half term.

The retail boss added: “That one particular kid who was at the front of the video, the police knew him. Apparently, he threatened someone with a plastic knife a little while ago. It is a trigger for me because today it’s a plastic knife, but tomorrow it could be a real one.”

Despite reporting all the incidents to police, the village shop’s owners say officers aren’t often deployed to react to their complaints.

A spokesperson for Kent Police said it had received reports of anti-social behaviour involving young people at the business and that an investigation is underway.

Following the most recent incident on April 12, the force said officers attended and enquiries were completed, including speaking to witnesses and reviewing CCTV when a group of children entered the store shortly before 5pm and allegedly threw liquid from a plastic bottle.

A spokesperson added: “Officers are liaising with the owner of the premises and work is ongoing, including with schools, to help identify those responsible so that they and their families can be spoken to and a proportionate resolution reached.”

The owner of the Medway store continued: “It is traumatic. I think the only course of action really is to give retailers more power to be able to physically hold these children and push them out.

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“People who usually come into a shop, make a transaction and leave – there’s nothing for you not to like. If we ask you for ID or if we ask for two kids at a time, there’s a reason for it. You have to respect it just like I would if I went into another shop.

“All we want to do is come to work, do our job and go home, we don’t want anything else.”

Inspector Paul Diddams, of Kent Police’s Medway Community Safety Unit, said: “We fully understand the impact antisocial behaviour can have on residents and local businesses.

“My officers will always pursue the most robust options available to them, including prosecution where appropriate.

“I would urge anyone experiencing issues to report them as soon as possible to ensure an effective police response, so that we can track down culprits to face the consequences of their actions.”