Residents are pleading with Kent’s police commissioner to bring in more officers to tackle yobs and vandals in Lydd.

The petition to Ann Barnes was set up by resident Jo Ferguson.

He says that the area is increasingly plagued by criminal damage against private property, such as cars, and anti-social behaviour on the street from youngsters.

The petition reads: “The people of Lydd would like the police to stand up and do more the help stop this from happening.”

It calls for PCSOs to be given more powers of arrest because officers take too long to come in from Ashford and Folkestone, sometimes not turning up at all.

Mr Ferguson said: “There is a lack of police presence in the area, which is causing more young people to do anti-social behaviour and criminal damage as they know that they can get away with it.”

He added: “This is due to police cuts. We have had break-ins, damage being done to people’s cars and they [the police] don’t bother coming out to look when we report it. We all feel forgotten.”

The call is also for more police on the wider Romney Marsh and resident Shane McCaffery was the first to put his name down.

Among the petition comments were one by Andrea Cassidy, of New Romney, who said there was “increasing anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and harassment by youths who think they are untouchable.”

Signatory Sharon Rooney said she was born and bred in Lydd and said her brother and his wife had had their car keyed three times.

She said: “Why should you work hard for something nice and these mindless thugs come along and ruin it outside your house?”

Sheila Malcolmson, of New Romney, said: “I have friends who live in Lydd and have seen the damage by these idiots first hand. Where are the parents?”

Sharon Carr, of Lydd, said: “We keep having our cars scratched on a regular basis. Maybe having policing in the area will help.”

Russ Brown, of Greatstone, said: “I’ve recently had my garage burgled and the police didn’t want to attend, let alone investigate it.”

Janet Edwards, of Greatstone, said: “There is inadequate policing in our locality. We need more regular police patrols to restore our confidence and peace of mind.”

June Vranch, of Lydd, said: “Fed up with damage done to private property in Lydd. No police presence at all. I’m in my 70s and will not go out on dark evenings on my own because of verbal abuse from young yobs. We need a police presence 24/7 in Lydd.”

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes said: ‘I’m really sad to hear that some people in Lydd are unhappy with their police service because I’ve had little correspondence from them about this up to now.

“My door is always open if they wish to get in touch to talk about their concerns.’

The online petition can be found on a posting by Mr Ferguson on the Facebook page The Real Romney Marsh Watch.