An away day to Maidstone United’s Gallagher Stadium turned sour for two underage Whitehawk fans last night as they faced a barrage of sexual chants from home supporters in the Town End.

The 15-year-old girls endured 45 minutes of verbal abuse before stewards led them to the directors’ box.

The officials, whose intervention was praised on social media by the Hawks’ support, then returned to the stands to apologise to the rest of the away crowd during the second half.

It is understood that at least one spectator, thought to be a regular supporter, from the 1,743-strong crowd was ejected from the ground, located on James Whatman Way.

Fans of the high-flying Stones decried the “pathetic behaviour” of “a small minority” on their online forum, with some calling for the offenders to be banned.

"We pride ourselves on providing a family-friendly atmosphere and we will stop at nothing to protect that," Bill Williams

Although the club is yet to confirm whether further action will be taken, club chief executive Bill Williams said: “We will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour in whatever form it comes.

"On the rare occasions when incidents have occurred, we’ve issued warnings and even banned a small number. We pride ourselves on providing a family-friendly atmosphere and let me be clear, we will stop at nothing to protect that.”

The match finished 1-0 to the visitors, but Maidstone remain second in the Vanarama National League South.

by Jen Steadman