A fresh layer of defence against anti-social behaviour is walking the streets of Maidstone.

Street ambassadors will now be patrolling the County Town's streets 96 hours of the week.

The new initiative has been billed as the "eyes and ears" of local businesses, as they work with police and enforcement teams to help clean up the crime, anti-social behaviour, littering and vandalism.

Maidstone's new Business Improvement District has funded the scheme, which is expected to last for the next five years.

Ilsa Butler, BID manager for One Maidstone, said: "Safety, crime and anti-social behaviour, particularly relating to vagrancy, were key priorities for businesses and consequently the BID was keen to hit the ground running in addressing these concerns wherever possible.

“We are grateful to have the full support of Kent Police, which has provided guidance on the project and will continue to work in partnership with us as we proceed. The ambassadors will also have the opportunity to shadow representatives of the council’s own community safety teams, so we are confident that through this partnership approach that we can make a positive impact.”

“A regular, reassuring presence will be beneficial to businesses and their customers. There will be two ambassadors on duty at any one time and we are optimistic that in due course they will become recognisable faces around the town.

Ambassadors will be on patrol from 11am to 5pm Monday to Sunday and 11pm to 5am on Saturday nights.

Lee Roscoe, one of the ambassadors, said: "Our role involves working across Maidstone, trying to make it a better place for people to come back and shop.

"We go round introducing ourselves to each store, getting feedback, seeing if they've had any trouble and then we can take that back to our bosses and let them know what needs to be done from there.

"We're trying to get things like drugs and drink off the street, and also trying to help the homeless, by giving them a bit more information about where they can go and where they can get hot food, and just trying to make it a better and safer place.

"We've had a few challenges as it's getting busier towards Christmas - things like shoplifting might be a bit more high, but we're talking to other security guards, helping them out, we've got PCSOs and police on board and so far it's working out fantastically."

Funding from the scheme comes from the BID's £225,000 pot, which is going toward housekeeping and other projects.