“Sadly, the town in the last few months has really suffered from a wave of antisocial behaviour and this park has been quite a focal point of that.

“The offenders have taken it upon themselves to bring catapults down to the park and to fire them at the birds and several birds have been injured and even killed by these catapults.”

Cllr Watkins was shocked to learn that catapults can legally be used in public. The council has since launched a petition to try and get them banned in public spaces, calling them dangerous and pointless.

In another incident, a coachload of German exchange students arriving in Herne Bay were met with Nazi salutes and abuse from a gang of local youths. The adults escorting them were also targeted and police were called.

An exasperated Cllr Watkins added: “We’re a seaside town, we hugely depend on visitors.”

He said trouble began in the spring, prompting Canterbury City Council to bring in extra security over the summer holidays.

Akon Security has been awarded an £8,500 six-week contract over the summer to support enforcement teams and police, which Cllr Watkins says has helped improve matters.

The appalling behaviour that led to this unusual approach hasn’t been limited to lawless schoolchildren. Last year, a man was attacked with what is believed to have been a machete outside Captain Jack’s bar on the seafront. He suffered serious head wounds and later said he thought he was going to die.

For Pat Green, who has been living in one of the town’s retirement complexes for 15 years, the trouble began about six months ago when youths started causing chaos in the car park below the flats, including lighting fires directly beneath people’s homes.

At one point, she estimates, there were as many as 15 teenagers gathering nightly, overturning bins and ringing door buzzers to provoke residents.

In one incident she said that four youths targeted a blind neighbour living in the complex, even threatening her dog, and spat on Mrs Green’s husband when he told them to leave.

She explained: “One of them left when asked to do so. The other three were very abusive, spat at my husband, went to kick him. We got the police involved.”

Mrs Green said the bad behaviour was really frightening and taking place every evening and during the day at weekends.

She added: “They were lighting fires, there was graffiti all over the walls. I’m sure they were all high on drugs because it wasn’t normal behaviour. The youngest was 10. Their ages probably went up to 15, 16, 17. But as the group grew, it was girls as well, who were just as bad as the boys and apparently, there’s been a lot of spitting in people’s faces and things like that. They did it to my husband. It was atrocious. I had to hold myself back.”

The residents had to adapt their daily routines entirely due to what was taking place.

Mrs Green added: “We felt sorry, so sorry for Susie [her blind neighbour]. Everybody was messaging her saying we’ll walk with you. But she’s so independent. She used to go out early in the morning before they probably were even up. She didn’t even go out at night. They were targeting her more than anybody because she was vulnerable. I’ve never experienced anything like that wherever we’ve lived which was a bit of a shock.

“We were also worried that we were going to get our cars damaged.”

She added: “They were ransacking Morrisons, Aldi, Iceland. It got to the point where a few ladies were frightened to go to work. It has been much better now. The police actually listened and they had lots of photographs.They knew their names.

“We had a duck killed on the pond that had babies underneath it. A seagull was killed. It was atrocious behaviour. They’re still around, we see them in the town. But it’s all under control. They’ve got security guards now in some of the shops.

“It’s a beautiful place, Herne Bay. People come here for the holiday, with the pier and everything so I think they are getting the message now. Where the parents are, I have no idea, because everything was put on [Facebook group] Herne Bay Chatter.

“One parent came forward at the town meeting and said one was hers, and she was ashamed. She took his phone away and locked him in the house but the police said you’re not allowed to do that these days. But the rest of the parents, goodness knows who they are. I’ve never seen behaviour like it anywhere.

“It’s coming back to normal, thank goodness. I think they know now that that behaviour is not tolerated by anybody in Herne Bay and hopefully all the other towns will follow suit.”

Gates are also being put up to block access to the car park of the retirement complex.

A couple of the young people have been expelled from school, Mrs Green said. She added: “They say that there’s not enough for kids to do in Herne Bay but there’s plenty of stuff, they just don’t want it. They just want to ride on their bikes and make a nuisance of themselves.”

Shopkeepers on Mortimer Street in the town centre, just seconds away from the seafront promenade and the pier, say they’ve also endured months of shoplifting and intimidation.

Kamil Wojtarowicz, 37, from the STOP Mobile Phone Repair Centre, said that on one occasion the troublemakers threw sunglasses at a woman who was passing by. One shop that has been particularly affected is Mortimer’s Local.

Mr Wojtarowicz said: “The shopkeeper told me that every day they’ve been there. But it’s better now [thanks to the extra patrols] I can tell you that. I don’t see them as much as before.”

When asked if he has ever felt unsafe, he added: “Yes. It’s not just one two, or three kids, it was like six, seven or eight coming in and you have to watch them.”

Now the shop has stuck up a sign saying that police are patrolling the area and Mr Wojtarowicz said that it is clear how much of a difference it makes when police and security officers are regularly visible.

He added: “Every day I can see the policemen now.”

Now, with the added security, he still sees the young people around occasionally but instead of coming into the shops, the antisocial youths just walk past, he said with a smile on his face.

John Smith, a shopkeeper at Gamenation that’s been on Mortimer Street for 12 years, said that the shop hasn’t been targetted but others have, like the Vape Shop, Savers and Iceland.

While he’s never felt unsafe, he said: “I can see how some do, the elderly and that.”

Adding to the town’s challenges is a visible economic decline. Walking along Mortimer Street and the High Street, it’s hard to miss the rows of empty shops and vacant units including a shuttered Santander branch and many others that now stand lifeless.

Mr Smith told the Express: “Some [new shops] don’t even open. Some are here for six months or so and then go. There’s not much footfall. Some of the bigger shops have gone. The banks are all going. We’ve only got one bank left, I think, now. Everyone’s going elsewhere for their banking, which means they’re probably shopping elsewhere.”

Ron Kemp, 64, who works at The Divers pub on the seafront, said that for the 18 weeks he’s been working there, things had remained quiet until one night in early August.

He said: “Four or five young people, around 20 or 21, came in and smashed the back window. We don’t normally get that.”

Mr Kemp said he believed it could be the same group responsible for the machete attack outside a neighbouring pub in March 2024 but he remains confident in how his team handles any trouble.

He added: “We’re not too worried, we keep things safe. Within 10 minutes, they were gone. We know how to deal with it. It’s part of the job. The trick is to stop it before it happens and keep your eyes open all the time.”

Mr Kemp believes the behaviour wasn’t alcohol-related but possibly drug-fuelled, describing the group as acting strangely.

He also suspects the individuals involved aren’t local, but rather coming into Herne Bay by train. He said: “You can just jump on a train and you’re here. I think most of the trouble comes from a bit further afield, maybe one or two stops away.”

While his pub has been mostly unaffected, he acknowledged a broader issue of antisocial behaviour in parts of the town.

“Not here, but I do see it when I’m out. There are fights happening almost every week.”

For many in the town, the concern will be what will happen if police patrols drop again or when the funding runs out for the extra security officers.

It seems so simple, get more police officers out on the streets and trouble stops. Who would have thought?