An angry mum snatched a traffic warden's handheld computer before throwing it at them - narrowly missing a child outside a primary school.

The ugly incident outside Herne Bay Junior School is one of a number of acts of aggression against Canterbury City Council enforcement officers in the past six months.

In another incident, a driver ran over a warden's foot in Northgate car park, Canterbury, after being issued with a parking fine.

The abuse also takes place online with people taking to social media.

One post encouraged people to “deck” enforcement officers “in the face as hard as you can” - claiming “there are many people who will pay for your lawyers if you are caught”.

City council chief executive Colin Carmichael said: “Keyboard warriors and a small minority of those issued with tickets seem to think our enforcement officers are fair game and unleash a torrent of vile abuse.

“They are accused of being thieves, bullies, little Hitlers and failed police officers. And these are the slurs we can repeat. Then there is the violence and the threats of violence they face day in and day out for simply doing their job, which is to help keep the public safe.

"They deserve our full support and we will not hesitate to use the full force of the law against those whose actions mean our enforcement officers are constantly looking over their shoulders."

Another incident involved a punter who shoved and threatened an enforcement officer several times after receiving a parking ticket headed back into a pub in North Street, Herne Bay.

Also, a driver threatened to kill an enforcement officer after receiving a parking ticket in Orchard Street, Canterbury.

A driver drove a van at a warden after returning to find they had been issued with a parking ticket in Link Lane, Canterbury.

Head of safer neighbourhoods, Douglas Rattray, said: “What these people fail to realise, when 99% of people do, is our enforcement officers are tackling some of our most- complained about issues. They try to put a stop to littering, try to catch the vandals who daub graffiti and try to prosecute the flytippers who spoil our countryside.

“At the same time, parked cars that break the rules have a huge impact on other motorists by causing congestion, creating danger in and around the school gates, stopping buses and dustcarts getting through, and could pose a serious problem for the emergency services who are racing on blue lights to save lives.

“In the past year, our enforcement officers have given first aid at road accidents and other incidents, found lost children and vulnerable adults, helped rough sleepers, prevented suicides and jumped into a river to save someone from drowning.”

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