Podcast: Shopping centre a "no-go area" with gangs of teens terrorising customers

KentOnline

Traders and residents fear rising rents and anti-social behaviour is putting off customers from visiting an out-of-town shopping centre.

Shop owners in New Ash Green say a volatile group of youths who intimidate customers in the car park and hurl verbal abuse at them in the street are deterring visits.

Also in today’s podcast, five men have faced court after a meeting arranged on Facebook exploded into a street brawl in Folkestone.

One person was stabbed and another suffered serious head injuries in the fight, which included wooden poles, a crowbar and chains.

Just as the weather starts to warm up in Kent, an outdoor swimming pool used by thousands every summer has been forced to suddenly close.

The attraction in Medway only opened for the season at the weekend and it’s not yet known when it will be able to reopen.

Villagers are boycotting a new convenience store in a former pub amid claims the owner “misled” residents, the parish council and planning department.

But the owners say the business is “a work in progress” and not the final result.

And in sport you can hear from the Kent cricket captain who says Spitfires can qualify for the knockout stages of the T20 Blast competition.

Their campaign gets underway against Middlesex tonight.