A farmer says he is being plagued by youths who are trespassing on his land and threatening him with catapults and stones.

Geoffrey Homewood, who runs Court Lodge Farm in Kingsnorth, is fed up with the youngsters breaking into the farm and leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

He has had to call the police several times in the past few months after the group vandalised a pick-up truck, let his livestock out of their pens and started a fire in a small building.

He said: “I’ve experienced no end of trouble. In March, they cut the string on the gates to let the sheep out and bashed them with sticks and rocks to get them moving.

“They also smashed up an old pick-up truck. The police rounded up the sheep in Merino Way.

“It was the middle of the night. It was so dangerous. The sheep could have been hit or caused an accident.”

In another incident in April, windows were smashed with a catapult and a bike was dumped.

Mr Homewood, who has been a farmer for 42 years, said: “One boy threatened me with the catapult.”

He says that a dog walker even reported his sheep roaming in the road to the police after the vandals let them out.

"I was threatened again by one boy with stones. Another fired a catapult.” - Mr Homewood

Mr Homewood, who says he has chased the youths off his land before, is now keeping a log of all the incidents.

He adds: “The police know about it, I’ve been onto them for ages. They don’t show any presence at all. It might not seem much, kids playing around, but it all builds up.

"It is mindless vandalism.”

He last reported an incident on Bank Holiday Monday (May 4), when a gang of six entered the farm and threatened him with stones.

He said: “It was four boys and two girls. I was threatened again by one boy with stones. Another fired a catapult.”

A police spokesman said of this incident: “Police were called at 3.15pm on Monday, May 4, after reports that a group of young people were throwing stones while on private land.

“The caller was unable to give a description and said they had already left the land.

“An officer attended his address and he was given advice on what to do should they return.”

The raids on Mr Homewood's land are among a series of incidents in Ashford recently that have shocked and sickened residents.

Last week, we reported that the body of a pregnant horse had been dumped in a country lane in the borough. The animal, which had rope tied around her back legs, had its half-born foal emerging from it.

In another worrying attack, a man sexually assaulted two women in two seperate incidents in Kennington.

The pervert has approached both women from behind and groped their breasts, before fleeing the area.