A top police officer has branded a Kent district the worst he has ever known for violent clashes between drunken mobs.
Chief Inspector Ian Swallow has described how gangs of youths routinely fighting in public have cast a dark shadow over Thanet’s tourism spots.
The District Commander has also revealed how the force has received multiple reports in recent weeks of young girls “being followed by males” and women being “accosted by men”.
Ch Insp Swallow’s bleak depiction of Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs follows a succession of violent outbursts in public, leaving traders shaken.
“I have never worked in a district where this type of anti-social behaviour is so prevalent,” he wrote in a letter to Thanet District Council (TDC).
Describing the trouble hotspots as ‘Grip Zones’ as yet another dispersal order was enforced across the district, he said: “I have seen recent footage of young people tormenting and attacking some of the street drinkers in Ramsgate, and also others.
“Some of the district’s street drinkers are also known to exhibit this type of anti-social behaviour. It is worse at weekends, during the summer holidays, and also in the evenings.”
Last month, groups of youths were seen fighting, intimidating businesses and members of the public, and shoplifting.
Anti-social behaviour also broke out in Deal and Margate, but Broadstairs was the worst-affected town.
Shortly after the chaos, MP for East Thanet Polly Billington (Lab) described the scenes as “completely unacceptable”.
Now, Ch Insp Swallow has also lifted the lid on how women and children are routinely made to feel unsafe in problem areas.
“The police receive at least two reports a week in the summer months of women being accosted by men,” he wrote.
“We also receive regular reports of people speaking inappropriately to children.”
In the last three weeks alone, he explained, the force received six reports of young girls “being followed by males and either being spoken to inappropriately or sexual assaults being committed”.
“Over the last weekend, there were two incidents in Thanet gyms where women were approached inappropriately, and one sexual assault occurred,” he added.
Responsible for all of the district’s frontline policing, the chief inspector revealed the extent of trouble across the seaside towns in a detailed 23-point report.
The officer was writing in response to the authority’s ongoing consultation on a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), after legal challenges hindered its previous attempt last year.
Backing the new measures in the strongest possible terms, he wrote: “We fully support the making of a further PSPO to support our work in striving to make our district a safe place to live and work.”
TDC has been approached for comment.
