McDonald's has defended one of its security guards after footage went viral of him 'grappling' with youngsters outside the town centre takeaway.

Two videos in the past fortnight have shown separate altercations between a group of young people and security outside the chain in Week Street, Maidstone.

A McDonald's security guard tussles with a teenager outside the Maidstone restaurant

But the popular fast-food company say videos which have appeared online "don't capture the situation in its entirety".

One 18-second clip from Sunday, February 6, shows the guard pinning a boy to the ground before grappling with him as a crowd of youths are gathered round them, before a second security guard from another shop steps in to try and break them up.

The second clip, which has been seen by KentOnline and was posted online on Sunday, January 30, shows the guard holding onto a young girl as five other girls try to pull her from his grasp.

Both clips have led to people making allegations the guard is "aggressive and violent" to teenagers who hang around the town centre McDonald's.

A cousin of one of the girls involved said she threw a drink at the guard when he "grabbed" her and told her to leave, adding: "She's not a horrible girl, she was just angry at how she was being treated.

"He then grabbed her and starts swinging her around like a poxy rag doll.

"I know teenagers can be mouthy and annoying at times, but she's a good girl and there will never be a good enough reason for him to think he can do this and get away with it."

Many people have jumped to the defence of the security guard, including employer McDonald's, claiming the teenagers have been a nuisance outside the restaurant and causing trouble while trying to provoke him.

One woman wrote: "This isn't true. They were shouting in his face, abusing him and he did what he had to do."

While another added: "To be honest they give what they can't take, constantly yelling abuse at passers by and causing many women and children to be fearful walking past or going into McDonald's."

A McDonald's spokesman said: "We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to anti-social behaviour.

"We are aware that this continues to be an issue affecting the local area and we employ door security at certain times to ensure our restaurant remains a safe and welcoming environment for all.

"We are aware this video does not capture the situation in its entirety, and are therefore investigating the incident further.”

Anti-social behaviour at the top of Maidstone's Week Street, where the incident took place, has been a problem in the town centre for several years.

In September 2017, father-of-three Wayne Chester, 50, was killed after he was punched just once in the head outside McDonald's.

Teenager Andre King, just 16 at the time, landed the fatal blow after Mr Chester remonstrated with King and his other youths who were congregating outside the restaurant's doors.

Mr Chester fell to the ground and died soon afterwards from a combination of brain injury, cardiac arrest and blunt force trauma, and associated complications.

In 2018 the teenager was jailed for three years and three months.

Kent Police confirmed the force was investigating a disturbance at the fast food branch on Sunday.

A spokesman said: "Officers were called to the restaurant at around 5.15pm, following allegations a large group of people were causing antisocial behaviour and abusing staff.

"It is alleged a member of security was also racially abused and had a drink thrown at him. Enquiries are ongoing and no arrests have yet been made."