Platinum Jubilee and Ukraine flags torn down from Puddings café in Maidstone town centre by 'mindless thugs'
10:36, 05 June 2022
updated: 11:49, 06 June 2022
A family-owned coffee shop is hunting for the "mindless thugs" who destroyed their Platinum Jubilee tribute.
CCTV captured the moment two men ripped down the British and Ukrainian flags at Puddings in Week Street, Maidstone, before brazenly recording themselves waving the Union flag around.
Two men were recorded ripping down Jubilee and Ukraine flags before posing with them
The minute-long clip shows one of the young men running and jumping to grab the flag before yanking it down, snapping the wooden pole it was attached to in the process.
A second man, with a cigarette lit in his mouth, runs up to the broken flag and picks it up before waving it around while being recorded by his pal.
He puts the flag down and walks off, chucking his cigarette on the floor in the process, before a third man walks by and wants to be videoed waving the flag himself.
Marta Obuchowicz, who owns the café with her husband Paul, said: "Thank you to the mindless thugs whom thought it acceptable to destroy our proud tribute to Her Majesty on this Platinum Jubilee.
"I hope that this video will allow someone to name and shame this scum for not only the damage to my families shop but the dishonour to our national flag, only to then discard it on the floor as rubbish.
"You can see them taking video of themselves, so the idiots must be on social media somewhere.
"More people will see it, so there's more chance we have got to find them.
"It was Jubilee British flag together with Ukrainian flag showing our support against the conflict and bullies."
Marta, who has ran the shop at the bottom of Week Street near Jubilee Square for more than four years, said she was shocked when she found out what had happened.
"It’s really upsetting for us and our customers when the message is mindlessly vandalised and destroyed," she said.
"It is important to us that as a local independent we put an effort into showing our support for community and national interest especially as the big chain companies don’t bother.
"Part of our message is about coming together as a community and celebrating, this vandalism is really disappointed and upsetting."
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