Elderly residents at a retirement village which has been tormented by a gang of yobs say they are living in fear because its front door has been broken for a month.

Dozens of vulnerable and elderly people living in Rectory Close in Snodland are in a constant worry about their safety as the group of around 20 have been causing damage around the town.

After weeks of reporting a dodgy front door, which doesn't lock and has been accessible by anyone for four weeks, residents have endured sleepless nights and fear leaving their rooms.

Christine Blair, 83, has lived at the village – which is home to around 50 people and run by Clarion Housing Group – for more than 16 years and says she's never felt so unsafe.

She said: "I pay around £800 a month with rent and bills to feel unsafe in my own home.

"The door hasn't been shut properly for four weeks now. When the warden leaves on Friday at 4pm we're left on our own until 8am on Monday.

"I feel like where Clarion are such a big company and we're just a home in Snodland they don't care.

"But the children don't care either. Some of the language you hear from them running around the streets is dreadful, but if you challenge them you get a target on your back."

Adrian Coleman, 60, added: "The kids have been running amok inside the building, pushing over the fences outside and climbing on the roof.

"It's given me terrible anxiety and stress and left me with trouble sleeping as I'm scared anything could happen if they get in.

"There's so many vulnerable people in the home, some who are bed-bound, and they could be real targets for them.

"I don't even want to leave the village because I'm scared about what will happen."

"They are feral and get pleasure out of hurting or scaring anyone, including old people..."

Mary Chapman, 68, Janet Allen and a third resident who wanted to remain unnamed, are all calling for the door to be fixed urgently so they can feel safe in their own homes.

"That door is accessible by anyone 24 hours a day, which is terrifying," Mary added.

"We've had people come in to look at the doors who are carpenters and can't do anything because the door is metal.

"It just seems like we are an inconvenience, but it's our safety. Anyone could come in here at night and we wouldn't know until it's too late."

The concerned residents at Rectory Close say the youngsters are "feral" and the recent summer holiday was a nightmare for them.

Clarion Housing Group explained the door was fixed after KentOnline questioned them on the matter.

A spokesman said: “The safety of our residents is our number one priority and we apologise for the length of time it has taken to fix the door entry system at Rectory Close which required a complex repair.

"Our contractors have been on site over the last few days working on the system and we are pleased to report that it is now fully operational.”

The chaos at the home comes after a group of youths, described as being between 11 and 16, have tormented Snodland for the past few months.

On October 10, the Pavilion Café across the road was vandalised by a group of 10 while a chess club was being held.

It involved the youngsters grabbing red and brown sauce from the kitchen and squeezing it over the café's bench and walls.

Around a dozen youngsters were seen making a noise outside the café on Monday night before getting their hands on the sauce and vandalising the outside of the property, including the wooden benches.

Café owner Nicola Parker, of Godden Road, has worked there for 13 years and says she has "never seen anything like it".

The 47-year-old said: "Every year you get a group of children who are a bit mischievous or anti-social, but this lot are something else.

"They are feral and get pleasure out of hurting or scaring anyone, including old people.

"The veranda was caked in sauce the next morning and the chess club chairman explained to me what had happened.

"Myself and other businesses have been calling on the police to do something for some time, but nothing has happened and sooner or later businesses are going to take things into their own hands.

"I shouldn't have to wake up and worry about what's going to happen to my café every day because of some children. They are just dead set on trouble."

Ms Parker, who has owned the business for three years after working there for a decade before, says she and other places targeted are becoming frustrated.

It has also been claimed the yobs have targeted a nearby nursery by chucking stones over the fence, a funeral director's and the village Domino's branch which has been forced to shut certain nights because of unruly behaviour.

Domino's has been approached for more information.