A shopkeeper was beaten by yobs after they attacked his window display and his partner was punched in the face.

The episode happened in Sheerness High Street and a customer was also punched to the ground and kicked.

Stephen Jackson runs the Jacksonwood vintage tea rooms with Sarah-Jane Wood.

He spotted the 10-strong gang of hooded teenagers attack his life-sized witch on the pavement at Halloween.

He revealed his terrifying late-night ordeal to shocked members of the Sheerness Town Team, which was attended by Swale’s community policing team of Sgt Russ Balment and PC Ant Hopper.

Mr Jackson, 58, a father-of-three and grandfather-of-two, said: “It was 11pm on Wednesday, October 31, and we were still open.

"We had dressed the shop for Halloween and had sat a witch on a table outside when boys started kicking it and pulling her apart.

“There were about 10 aged 14 to 16. I told them to stop then the ringleader punched me in the face.

"Then they all started punching me.”

Sarah-Jane, 45, said: “I could see Steve in the centre with the boys punching him so I stormed in and tried to pull them off.

"But one boy swung a punch at me and hit me in the face.”

It was then a brave 64-year-old male customer called Martin tried to tackle the yobs.

Sarah-Jane said: “They attacked him as well and when he fell to the ground they started kicking him. It was frightening.

"They were all dressed in black, hooded up and wearing scarves. They ran off down Hope Street.”

Stephen said: “I tried to find out why they did it and offered to shake their hands but they weren’t having it. It is so disappointing.

"We try so hard to improve Sheerness and then a few do this. It has left me really angry.”

"There were about 10 aged 14 to 16... I told them to stop then the ringleader punched me in the face" - Stephen Jackson

But he said his faith had been restored after a mother visited the shop four days later to apologise.

He said: “Her boy had been in a different group and had been so shocked at what he’d seen he had told her.

"It’s good there are still youngsters with a conscious. But it has put us on our guard now.”

Police Sgt Russ Balment has also heard about a spate of smashed windows and an outbreak of graffiti “tagging” during the Sheerness Town Team meeting in the Rumour bistro.

He said it was important all crime was reported, either by calling 101 or on the web at www.kent.police.uk, but said many police resources were being used to tackle drug crime on the Island.

He said: “We have a lot of problems with gangs coming to Sheerness from London and using local teenage boys to do their drug-running.

“That is one of our main priorities at the moment along with domestic violence.

“We are spending a lot of our time investigating drug gangs but it is important people keep reporting other crime so we are kept aware of what is happening across the Island.”

He said officers monitored social media and kept the public up to date with the latest arrests and initiatives on the Swale police Twitter feed.

He said Swale was the third busiest area for crime in Kent, behind only Medway and Thanet.