Residents in a seaside town say they feel “intimidated” and “scared to go out at night” as more than 100 teens have been gathering on the beach.

People in Whitstable claim the youngsters have been “wreaking havoc” throughout the area.

On June 23 and July 7, police issued dispersal orders over two weekends in an attempt to stop anti-social behaviour and harassment from large groups.

But one resident, who has lived in Island Wall for the past eight years, claims this is not stopping the youths from meeting in the area.

Lucy, who asked us not to use her surname, said: “The dispersal orders are being put out over the weekend, but they seem to be congregating in the week.

“On Wednesday, July 5, I was going down to the beach to look at the sunset and I saw at least 70 kids in the area.

“Almost all of them had a bottle of alcohol in their hand and it was incredibly loud and very intimidating.”

“It is scary living here and It makes me worried about going out at night on my own...”

Lucy told KentOnline she fears the situation could become “out of control” over the summer holidays and thinks it is “damaging the reputation of the town”.

She added: “I live about 200 metres from the beach and I could hear them clearly from inside my house.

“The kids seem to be gathering from all over the place and using Whitstable as a meeting point.

“It is scary living here and it makes me worried about going out at night on my own.

“It is very intimidating to meet a large group of kids and is very stressful to have this constant worry about this influx of people in the town causing trouble.”

Lucy called the police and says after 20 minutes the noise seemed to disappear.

However another resident, who lives in Nelson Road, which is just a three-minute walk away from the beach, says the teens caused criminal damage on the same day.

The woman, called Jackie, said: “On this particular night, there were between 100-150 kids.

“They kicked off loads of wing mirrors down the street and jumped on several cars.

“This is not just high jinks now – it is criminal damage.

“It makes me feel sad that these kids go around thinking they can get away with this. The police are not doing enough to stop it.”

“Tackling anti-social behaviour is one of the focuses of Kent Police's Safer Summer campaign...”

But Inspector Paul Stoner, of Canterbury Community Safety Unit, insists tackling anti-social behaviour is a focus for the force this summer.

“Following reports of large groups of young people causing criminal damage to toilets and vehicles after meeting up on beaches in June, police have put in place dispersal orders over recent weekends,” he said.

“These allow officers to disperse large groups and potentially arrest those who refuse to leave the area. Patrols in the town have since been engaging with groups on the seafront, encouraging them to consider the impact they might have on others.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour is one of the focuses of Kent Police's Safer Summer campaign and Canterbury district's Neighbourhood Task Force and Beat Team have been in coastal areas taking action where necessary.

“Anyone who witnesses anti-social behaviour or has information that may be useful to us, to report it through the Kent Police website, or by calling 999 if a crime is in progress or someone is in immediate danger.”

Youths ‘starting fires’ in Herne Bay

Meanwhile, just a few miles down the coast, one Herne Bay businessman says his new restaurant, set to open in autumn, was targeted by a gang of yobs.

Mehmet Dari has called for parents to take responsibility for their kids after a group deliberately set fire to a wheelie bin next to The Bay, formally Le Petit Poisson.

“I had builders working inside who didn’t know there was a fire,” the A La Turka owner said.

“They could’ve lost their lives.

“We have a compressor for the fridge and freezer near where the bins are.

“Luckily, a neighbour moved the bin away from the building.

“If nobody had seen it, it could’ve burnt the whole building.”

Mr Dari was walking past the bandstand toilets and saw toilet tissue had also been set on fire.

“There is a group jumping on top of the buildings, which is annoying us, but we have never seen fires before,” he added.

“Someone could be injured. It has been a nightmare.”

A fire service spokesperson confirmed crews were called shortly before 7pm on July 9 to reports of a wheelie bin alight in Central Parade, Herne Bay.

A police spokesperson said: “'Officers are investigating a fire in a wheelie bin near Herne Bay seafront and have been made aware of another similar incident nearby at around the same time. We are also investigating an incident of criminal damage in the town's bandstand on the same day.

“Police take anti-social behaviour extremely seriously and our Neighbourhood Task Force and Beat Teams are working to prevent incidents and bring perpetrators to justice in Herne Bay.”

‘Young people want to hang out with friends, not scare the community’

KentOnline reporter Millie Bowles, 20, says it’s no surprise teens gather in public places to see their friends - because there’s not much else for them to do…

I remember what it was like a couple of years ago as a teenager. We had no real income - or if we did, our other friends didn't. So, you would go somewhere for free like a local park or the beach.

While my mates and I never vandalised anything or caused trouble in the town centre, you had to find your own entertainment. In hindsight, a group of 10-or-so teens in a park chatting, playing music and sometimes smoking could be intimidating to others.

Hanging out with your friends was just that - not an organised activity with the aim of scaring the local community.

I found 16-18 a sort of purposeless time. You don’t have the money to go for a day out somewhere but feel too old for youth clubs and the like. No one at that age wants to meet up at someone's house under the watchful eye of their parents - so we met up in public.

Young adults are easily influenced, so it only takes one troublemaker to turn kids who would usually be respectful the other way.