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Youths vandalising former St Benedict’s care home in Herne Bay 'terrorising' neighbours

Elderly residents living next to a derelict former nursing home say they are being “terrorised” by gangs of youths repeatedly breaking in and vandalising the property.

Neighbours in St George’s Terrace in Herne Bay are calling for the owner of what used to be St Benedict’s residential home to secure the building.

It has not been used to care for elderly people since 2014 and is now known for attracting squatters and anti-social behaviour.

The former nursing home in St George's Terrace
The former nursing home in St George's Terrace

Frank Gormley, who has lived next to it for the last four years, says it is a magnet for trouble.

“We are now beginning to get terrorised by these kids,” he said.

“It’s not desirable for our children and grandchildren to walk down this road at night because we don’t know who’s in there.

“Every couple of months someone is breaking in there. We feel vulnerable. It should have CCTV or regular security.”

In February last year, up to 20 firefighters were called to tackle a blaze at the former nursing home.

Mr Gormley, who is in his 70s, says he saw masked gangs breaking in on Saturday, April 13.

Five days earlier, police were called to St George’s Terrace to reports a teenager holding an air rifle was seen climbing into the building with several others.

The former nursing home in St George's Terrace
The former nursing home in St George's Terrace

“There was a bunch of kids running in and out of the building and one had an air rifle,” Mr Gormley added.

“One of them, who said he was running away, tried to climb over our wall into our garden.

“We’re also worried about the fire issue. The state of the building is another issue because when it was stormy last month a roof tile blew off and smashed through our window.”

Neighbour Hubert White, 67, also fears those entering the building could injure themselves because it is in a state of disrepair.

Police spokesman Natalie Hardy said two years ago that officers had spoken with the owner of the eyesore, Perry Kang, to address the issue.

However, Mr Kang believes residents are exaggerating the issues.

“We are now beginning to get terrorised by these kids...” - resident Frank Gormley

“It’s not the only property we have and we don’t normally have this sort of problem,” he said.

“Business is hard enough, but then you get people who pester you and make it harder by making things up. They’ve been complaining constantly since we bought it.

“People break into other people’s houses all the time. We’ve put a security fence up and boarded the windows.”

Mr Kang gained planning permission to convert St Benedict’s into 10 flats in October 2017.

But he says financial constraints, caused in part by Brexit, have meant he will look to auction it off.

It went unsold on the two previous occasions it went under the hammer with a guide price of more than £1 million.

Read more: All the latest news from Herne Bay

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