A woman has hit out at yobs who rammed her guide dog with an e-scooter and verbally abused her.

Kay Gilham was travelling through Sittingbourne High Street in her mobility scooter with her three-year-old companion when one of the group rammed into the Doberman and Malamute cross.

Kay, who lives in the town, uses a scooter due to having a degenerative spinal condition and relies on Loki to pick up on her medical cues and protect her health.

However, at around 8.45pm on Monday as they went through the town the group of four yobs approached Kay and Loki and began to mock the dog as he barked.

Kay said: "They got in his face and were shouting at him and mocking him when he barked. They were laughing and getting up in his personal space so he couldn't work and help me out.

"It was really intimidating to be surrounded by the group of them laughing at hearing Loki yelp in pain.

"I've been the victim of many insulting attacks from members of the public so have a thick skin for it, but my service dog is trained to respond to my needs and has been trained for nearly three years, but now he's really shaken.

'Those thugs think it's okay to terrorise vulnerable individuals with no repercussions...'

"I've had to take him to a local dog behaviourist at The Doggie Shrinks, who is working with him and me to try and overcome the issue, but it's going to take time and will be costly."

Kay, who is in her 40s, admitted she was left angered by the scary event, and even had to walk past the group again on the way home.

She said: "I was nervous to walk back past them but as I got there they were harassing a taxi driver.

"I'm fuming about it all, because those thugs think it's okay to terrorise vulnerable individuals with no repercussions.

"The damage done to Loki could be irreversible, then where does that leave me and my independence?"

A police spokesman said: "Information is sought following a report a woman using a mobility scooter, who was being assisted by a service dog, was harassed by four young people in Sittingbourne.

"The four individuals, who are described as being males in their mid to late teens, are said to have verbally abused the woman in Bourne Place, off St Michael’s Road, between 8.40pm and 9pm on Monday.

"The suspects are all described as being white and were wearing black tops. Two of the individuals were wearing dark trousers, with another wearing black shorts and the final one wearing grey trousers.

"At least one of the individuals was travelling on an e-scooter.

"Since the incident, officers have spoken to the victim and also gathered CCTV from a number of sources, with the footage continuing to be reviewed.

"As part of inquiries, investigators are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or captured the suspects on privately held video footage such as dash cameras or CCTV."

Anyone with information that can assist is asked to call 01795 419119 quoting 46/150091/21.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111 or using the anonymous online form available via this link: https://crimestoppers-uk.org

Read more: All the latest news from Sittingbourne