Shopkeepers say they are "sick and tired" of children continually putting themselves in danger by walking across rooftops in the heart of a town.

Multiple businesses in Gillingham High Street have had problems with people walking and jumping across their properties, sometimes causing damage.

Rod Singh, who is manager of mobile phone and laptop repair centre Mega-Tech, said: "We are sick and tired of it. It is literally every day. We have just spent seven grand replacing our roof after we had leaks in the shop.

"It has been going on for a very long time. It is pretty frustrating."

Mr Singh said he did not know how they were getting up there initially but were jumping on to his shop from neighbouring properties.

Children were spotted last week and were allegedly throwing stones and moss down onto the street below.

Ritu Bali, who is the manager of Bliss Beauty Bar, said: "We had one customer saying they were throwing things towards them. She was quite panicky."

Although the offenders have not been on her roof, Ms Bali added she had seen some children walking on others across the road.

She added: "It was so dangerous and scary. It is happening again and again."

Kent Police say officers were called at 2.35pm on December 29 following reports of children walking along rooftops.

Patrols attended and arrested three teenage boys in connection with offences including criminal damage and an assault on police.

They have all been released under investigation.

Fran Cook, manager at The British Heart Foundation shop, said they had also had incidents with children on their property and are asking that the storage bin at the back of the shop be removed to help prevent people climbing.

She said: "I have not really seen it but I do know about it. It is an ongoing problem. It is affecting businesses.

"They are on the high street causing problems. If one of the security team sees them, they let other shops know."

The police said more patrols were being carried out in the area and a temporary dispersal order was put in place, which ran from 3pm on December 31 until January 2.

Officers are also working with local businesses around measures they can take to prevent future access to their roofs.