WORRIED families whose lives are being made a misery by nuisance motorcyclists claim they now fear being shot at with air guns.

Residents say they are fed up with the constant noise of engines and insults they are suffering. But now the problem is getting dangerous.

And in a new twist, they say brown wheelie bins are being taken from homes for "ritual" burnings to chants and screams in the woods.

The families, who live on an estate in Lordswood, Chatham, are too frightened to be named for fear of reprisals.

But they say bikers are in the woods nearby every day between 3.30 pm and 7pm and also congregate on the corner of Lordswood Lane and North Dane Way.

"Life is intolerable because of these hooligans," said one young Lordswood mother. "At least one man has been almost shot with an air rifle. Fortunately he was not injured but next time pellets could hit somebody causing serious injury. There is a terrible tragedy just waiting to happen here. Something must be done to stop this unacceptable behaviour."

The incident happened at the end last month. The victim is a 49-year-old unemployed vehicle paint sprayer who regularly walks his dog in the woods.

He said: "I was shaken when pellets thudded into a tree next to my head. I spoke to the guy involved and told him to mind where he was aiming but all I got from him was a grunt.

"What with this, the setting alight of wheelie bins and the mouthfuls of obscenities you get if you have the temerity to question their behaviour, it really has to be stopped before somebody is seriously hurt."

He added: "I rang Medway police four times and each time I waited for at least an hour. But guess what? nothing happened. When I made my last call, I was told to ring 999, which I did and I was soundly told off for doing so and ordered to go back to the local police. This I did, and was promised that somebody would be sent yet again, nothing happened."

A Medway Police spokesman said: "Since April 1, we have seized four motorbikes and issued 28 Section 59 warnings as part of Operation Inact, which is designed to beat nuisance motorcycles. Most of these seizures and warnings have been issued in the Lordswood area, including Lordswood Lane and North Dane Way."

gbartlett@thekmgroup.co.uk