Arrests have been made and warnings have been issued after anti-social behaviour in a town centre.

A dispersal order was in place in Sittingbourne over the weekend following concerns from residents and businesses.

Men in their late 30s were arrested while a youth was given a warning after a shopper's vehicle was egged in a supermarket car park.

The order, which ran from Friday (August 9) until Sunday (August 11) covered High Street, East Street, Roman Square, the Avenue of Remembrance, William Street, Grafton Road and The Butts.

The section of the A2 that passes through the town was also included, along with Milton Road and Fountain Street.

It gave officers additional powers to move on anyone causing a nuisance and if necessary arrest those who returned to the area.

At 5.30pm on Friday, police arrested a 38-year-old local man in the High Street on suspicion of a public order offence and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

This came after a patrol had received a report of a disturbance. He was bailed to return to the police station, pending further investigation.

Then on Sunday, a 32-year-old man from Faversham was detained on suspicion of assault, a public order offence, theft and being drunk and disorderly in Station Street.

The suspect was bailed with conditions not to enter Sittingbourne High Street.

At 3.45pm on the same day, a mum-of-one, who asked not to be named, was shocked to be told by an apologetic security guard her Peugeot 2008 had been egged in Sainsbury's car park.

It is believed two or three youngsters stole the eggs before smashing them against the vehicle which was parked close to the entrance.

One of the automatic doors was smashed as well. KentOnline asked Sainsbury’s about this but it declined to comment.

The victim said: "When I was in there, some children - aged about 14 - were arguing with another shopper who one of them told to eff off.

"I didn't see them after that, but I assume they're the ones who targeted my car.

"The security guard said they're forever having problems with kids. She'd called the police who arrived within two minutes and gave chase.

"I hope they caught them and spoke to their parents about the bad behaviour.

"Something needs to be done - sounds like Sainsbury's have got their hands full.

"To be fair, it wasn't too much of a hassle washing the mess of my car - mainly because I made my husband do it."

One of those involved, a 14-year-old boy, was identified by police after officers were called to the store.

The youth was issued with a formal warning in the presence of a parent, which requires the child to behave himself and includes the risk of further sanctions if he comes to the attention of the police again.

Inspector Vanessa Foster, of the Swale Community Safety Unit, said the dispersal order was used to “good effect” and that she was “determined” to be tough on offenders.

“Those who fail to learn their lesson will continue to be arrested and ultimately brought to justice...

She added: “Local people and shopkeepers have contacted us to highlight incidents of anti-social behaviour in the town committed by a small number of people.

“A dispersal order is one of the tools at our disposal and was used to good effect over the weekend. As can be seen, both adults and children can cause issues for the community and my officers were perfectly placed in the town to respond swiftly and make early interventions.

“I am determined to maintain a visible deterrent in the town and those who fail to learn their lesson will continue to be arrested and ultimately brought to justice.”

Sainsbury’s declined to comment on what issues it has faced since the end of the school term and whether it would be introducing further security measures at the store.

Instead, its spokesman commented generally on the measures in place across all its stores.

She said: “We invest significantly each year to make our stores safer for our colleagues and customers to work and shop and were the first retailer to introduce colleague-worn cameras in 2018 and colleagues now wear them in every Sainsbury’s store.

“We’re completing the colleague-worn camera rollout through our Argos stores as well as fogging systems into our convenience stores and expect to complete this, this year.

“We have increased the number of security officers in our stores this year and use measures to deter criminal activity like our in-store detectives and security doors and we use a wide range of security solutions including CCTV linked to our centralised Security Operations Centre and working in partnership with the police.

“Our security team also regularly run in-store trials of new controls and technology.”