The peace and beauty of a Kent river are being ruined by yobs hurling bottles and cans at pleasure tour boats and targeting wildlife with catapults.

The anti-social behaviour has sparked outrage among nature lovers and tour operators who are urging a police crackdown.

The incidents are blighting the River Stour in and around Canterbury where one boatman recently found a duck dead in the water with a hole in its chest caused, he believes, by a type of ball bearing or stone.

One operator says the yobbish activity and vandalism are the worst he has ever known.

Police say they have stepped up patrols and confiscated a slingshot and ball bearings from one teenager and issued orders and warnings to others.

“Unfortunately, we have witnessed some appalling behaviour,” said Bradley Harun, who runs the Canterbury Punting Company.

“We have seen youths chucking bottles at boats and punts, which is completely unacceptable.

“Last year we even had a man ‘flashing’ a boat full of schoolchildren on an outing with us.

“Fortunately, police arrested him pretty quickly.

“But it’s absolutely crazy that we are having to put up with this when visitors are meant to be enjoying a peaceful experience on our beautiful river.

“Canterbury should be clean and safe and this sort of behaviour threatens to put tourists off.”

Ade Mills, who runs Canterbury Historic River Tours, says his staff have experienced similar issues and blames a group of ‘hooded’ teenagers.

“We even had them firing gravel and stones with catapults into one of our boats from the Marlowe Theatre bridge which is incredibly dangerous and could seriously injure someone,” he said.

“The police are aware as we have reported it to them, so hopefully they will be clamping down on this gang and their reckless behaviour.”

Another river operator, who did not want to be named, said: “We’ve had more trouble this year than I can remember in my time on the river.

“It appears to be a couple of groups of teenagers causing the problems, so just a minority, but it’s been persistent and involves firing catapults at birds and throwing bottles and cans at rivercraft.

“The dead duck we found had clearly been killed by some sort of ball bearing.

“The wildlife along the Stour is precious and is what we are proud to show to our customers so it’s ghastly that anyone would try and harm it.”

Photographer Ralph Lombart especially enjoys capturing the beauty of the river but says he is also dismayed at the behaviour he is witnessing.

“I have seen a number of incidents where the police have had to be called and it’s very disappointing because our lovely city and its beautiful river should be respected,” he said.

Kent Wildlife Trust is angered by the reports and says any incidents of deliberate harm to wildlife are abhorrent.

“At a time when nature is in crisis, we must protect wildlife, not destroy it.” said a spokesman.

“The River Stour is a haven for many species such as beavers and ducks who are currently caring for their ducklings.

“There is something fundamentally wrong with our society if it is deemed acceptable to maim and kill these animals. If anyone has any information about these incidents, they should contact police.”

Inspector Paul Stoner, of Canterbury Community Safety Unit, says his beat officers are aware of concerns about anti-social behaviour around the river Stour and have increased the number of patrols in the area.

Earlier this year, police seized a catapult and ball bearings from a 13-year-old boy, who was taken home and spoken to in the presence of his parents.

Another teenager was issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) forbidding him from carrying a catapult or being in groups of under-18s in public. Failure to comply with the terms of the CPN could lead to further action.

On Sunday, a group of boys were stopped, searched and spoken to following a report of stones being thrown. Their details have been taken as part of ongoing engagement work by Kent Police’s Child-Centred Policing Team.

Insp Stoner said: “We will continue to patrol the riverbank and deal with any children believed to be involved, as well as working with partners including the city council and schools to address the concerns.

“I urge parents to find out what their children are doing when they are out and about, and ensure they are not causing a danger or nuisance to others.”

KentOnline previously exposed how sickening videos on TikTok are fuelling a horrific spate of attacks on wildlife.

Experts said trends on the social media platform can heavily influence the behaviour of young people.