Cars have been torched, shop staff abused and front doors kicked in as youths run riot disrupting a normally sleepy village.

Antisocial teens have been causing countless problems in Ash, near Sandwich, and residents say they have had enough - with some even looking to move away.

The issue has become so bad, at the parish council’s annual general meeting last week, residents flocked to the village hall to have their say, with representatives from the police, parish, district and county councils in attendance.

“Our front door has been kicked in by youths - I thought they were going to come through the door,” one woman explained.

“We have had the council bin in the car park thrown over our fence because they think it is fun.”

Another woman said: “My car was set on fire and a few days later five more cars were set alight.

“I was told they knew who did it but they can't prosecute because of insufficient evidence. I’m not happy with it.”

She explained a ball bearing, which she believes was being aimed at her cat, also caused damage to her backdoor.

“People are scared. I don't feel safe in this village and I will be moving away,” she added.

Neighbours say they have lost count of the amount of times they have had to call 999, 101 or file online police reports.

But Det Sgt Leigh Woolnough, from the Community Safety Unit, who attended the meeting says their data does not match up and the issues are not being reported as much as they should.

She said: “Over the rolling year, there have been 39 incidents of antisocial behaviour reported to police - and I stress reported to police because Facebook seems to be the method of reporting and I can't take crime reports off Facebook.

“There were eight reports in March. At the beginning of the year there were zero.

“We know there is a group of youths in Ash who are causing angst but we don't have all the reports through to us.

“If we don't have a record, we don't know what is happening out here.”

But residents disputed the accuracy of the statistics, saying they are constantly reporting what is happening yet nothing is getting done.

Chris Green, who has owned the village Co-Op store for 27 years, told KentOnline his shop has also been targeted.

“Youths have been getting on the roof and foul-mouthing when asked to come down,” he explained. “It has been going on for about six months but it certainly escalated over the Easter holidays.

“It is a lovely village and a nice place to do business. It’s a shame there is a small handful that spoil it for everyone.

“If it carries on, people won't want to come out in the evening any more.”

A member of staff from the store spoke at the meeting about how police have never shown up when called on 999.

“I have phoned the police on 999 on five occasions and not one policeman has turned up,” she said. “I also pressed the red alarm button and nobody came out. I could have been dead on the floor.

“They are terrorising people's homes, throwing eggs and stones, sitting on buildings and nothing is ever done.”

Now Dover District Council (DDC) has written to residents saying it will install two temporary CCTV cameras in The Street, the main route through the village, with the hope of deterring this behaviour.

It comes after a dispersal order was introduced in Ash earlier this month in response to teenagers causing a nuisance.

The regulation was implemented as a result of calls about groups entering empty buildings, causing a nuisance for shop workers and shouting and swearing at residents.

Both sets of public toilets in the village have also had to close because of vandalism and costly repairs are needed before they can reopen.

In December, “lairy teenagers” wearing creepy clown masks with “huge sharp teeth” were spotted disturbing villagers.

At the time, residents said the frightening-looking culprit was spotted loitering at the end of driveways silently peering at them. The “clown” also banged on doors late at night waking people up.

Resident Deena Wild says while she does not normally support CCTV, on this occasion she feels it is a good idea as she is concerned about the “campaign of terror” the youths have started.

“People are tired of these kids just getting away with it,” explained the 65-year-old.

“It is astonishing the levels you have to progress through in order to get some heavy-duty response to something that is very damaging to this village.

“We have lived here six years. This village has been a joy to live in up until recently and we need to find some way of clamping down on this behaviour. The police have got to stop this campaign of terror.”

Last year a neighbourhood watch group for Ash was set up by Josh Coombs with the hope of giving residents a way of tackling concerns as a community.

Speaking at last week’s meeting, Mr Coombs said he also supports the extra safety measures, adding: “Believe it or not, Ash is actually a village where there is very little crime.

“The Neighbourhood Watch initiative was brought in because of increasing issues relating to anti-social behaviour.

“The scheme is in its infancy but it is rapidly growing.

“The Facebook page was only started three weeks ago and already has 200 members.

“We are here to set up meetings, run campaigns and share resources and intelligence.

“We are going to be pushing on it because it is affecting so many people in the village and people feel unsafe.

“The parish council, district council and Kent County Council have all been instrumental in ensuring the situation is given the priority it requires and needs.

“I want to make sure it is resolved to our satisfaction in the community.”

But holding those responsible for the trouble to account is a tricky task because of their age.

Det Sgt Woolnough explained police have very limited powers for those aged under 18.

She explained: “They are children so they fall under the Children's Act which is set by the government.

“The government says interaction with the police in custody is an adverse child's experience.

“I understand it's frustrating, but we have to act in the realms of the law.

“Unless an under 18 commits a serious offence like murder or rape they are unlikely to go into custody because of safeguarding and the law.”

Police say regular patrols have been carried out in Ash, and two teenage boys were arrested during the dispersal order period.

One boy, 13, was taken home and spoken to in front of his parents.

The other, 16, was charged with breaching the terms of a Community Protection Notice imposed on him earlier this year.

He has been bailed to appear before a youth court.

A district council spokesman said: “DDC and Kent Police are aware of concerns around anti-social behaviour in the Ash area.

“We have written to residents to let them know that community safety partners are working together to address the issues, including preparing to install mobile CCTV in The Street in Ash in the near future, subject to feedback from local residents.

“We continue to work together to keep the area a safe place to live, work and visit.”

The CCTV has been welcomed by most with Cllr Trevor Bartlett (Con), ward member for Little Stour and Ashstone, promising it will be monitored constantly.

He said: “It has taken a while to get it sorted out as we had to get permission to put them on certain buildings.

“It might not stop the situation, but it is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

A surgery to specifically discuss the issue of anti-social in more detail is set to be arranged in the village in the next few weeks.

Dover Chief Inspector Keith Taylor said: “We are well aware of the impact anti-social behaviour can have both upon residents and local businesses, and as well as regular patrols in Ash we recently enforced a dispersal order which led to two arrests.

“Our officers were grateful for the opportunity to hear from residents at a recent parish council meeting, which helped provide a greater understanding of concerns and what matters most to the community.

“We will continue to act on any issues raised and the planned introduction of mobile CCTV in the village, through work with our partners, will hopefully give further reassurance.

“It is also important to note that whilst Kent Police takes every incident of antisocial behaviour extremely seriously, in the last 13 days we have received no reports of issues in Ash.

“We are also encouraged that reports of anti-social behaviour across the Little Stour and Ashtone ward have fallen by 15 per cent over the past year.

“We actively encourage people to report all crime and incidents of antisocial behaviour through the appropriate channels.

“This is so important as it helps us build an accurate picture of where there may be persistent problems and means we can respond more robustly.”