Broadstairs prepares for turbulent summer after rise in anti-social behaviour

KentOnline / KMTV

During the heatwaves, the town has turned into a hotspot -- with police dispersing 58 people in just the last three weeks. Finn Macdiarmid reports...

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00:00The seaside town of Broadstairs is used to having many tourists, but now the area seems

00:05to also be getting used to underage street drinking, aggressive behaviour and loitering.

00:09On multiple occasions over the last two months, they have seen crowds of young people with

00:13some intent on causing violence, damage and disorder.

00:17Locals say it was at its worst near the end of June, when A-levels and GCSE takers had

00:21finished their exams.

00:23But it has continued.

00:24In the last three weeks, Broadstairs has seen the most dispersals in Thanet, with 58 people

00:29made to move from an area, ahead of Margate with 56 and Ramsgate with only 10.

00:34Two teenagers were also arrested in the town last week for assaulting a police officer and

00:38shopkeeper.

00:39So as we get closer to the summer holidays, are people in the town worried about any more

00:43violent behaviour?

00:44Only this year really has been a main problem.

00:47Last year we had a few problems on the beach, but this year we seem to have a lot of people

00:50coming down from parts of Medway and South London, in sort of hundreds and hundreds of

00:55people coming down.

00:56I've grown up here and it was always like a safe place to come and it was fine to kind

01:00of hang out with all your friends in the evening.

01:01And I have a younger sister who's just turned 15 and she's sort of just the age where she

01:06wants to come out and kind of be around with her friends, but it's kind of, yeah, it's

01:10scary, especially for young women.

01:12It's not nice, it doesn't create a nice environment to live in, especially with quite a quiet, idyllic

01:17seaside town and it completely ruins that.

01:19It also kills the tourist trade, that's the big thing, you know, people come here for

01:23a holiday with their family, they're never going to come again if they've watched a massive

01:27fight break out and it's massively, it's terrible for local businesses.

01:32Now the question does still stand.

01:34Was this a one-off incident of young people from across the county coming down to celebrate

01:38the end of their A-levels and GCSEs, with the select few taking it a bit too far?

01:43Or is this a systemic problem, not just here in Broadstairs, but across some of Kent's bigger

01:48tourist spots?

01:50It's something that's a recurring problem, it's something that happens every year.

01:56I think what we saw this year was possibly the worst we've ever seen and I think the police

02:01now know, they have, they applied for dispersal orders, they put them in place, they were given

02:07reinforcements, they brought more officers into the district, into the town to help combat

02:14the problems, so I've got my fingers crossed and actually I don't expect any additional

02:18problems.

02:19Kent Police District Commander for Thanet, Chief Inspector Ian Swallow, said that Kent Police

02:23has been working with partners and listening to businesses and residents in Thanet as part

02:27of our drive to deter anti-social behaviour and identify anyone suspected of being responsible

02:32for causing disorder.

02:34This summer our neighbourhood teams will continue to provide that reassuring presence.

02:38Many in the town, especially local businesses, seem hopeful that the disorder, like the poor

02:42weather, will pass rather than repeat throughout the summer.

02:46Finn McDermid for KMTV

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