YOUTHS are constantly vandalising a day centre run by Age Concern at Swanscombe. The hooligans repeatedly smash windows and daub the walls with graffiti.

Pat Martin, chief officer at the day centre, said: "When I started here 13 years ago there was a lot of trouble, then it calmed down. But for the last six months it has been unbelievable."

Swanscombe Age Concern hopes to tighten its security but doesn't want to use valuable funds, earmarked for a new ambulance, to do so. Ms Martin added: "I was so angry last week. The cost to repair the windows has been about £300 as we have had 10 or 12 broken now. We had a new garage built to hold ambulances, but we had to spend thousands of pounds to get graffiti cleaned off the walls.

Residents living near the centre have also been hit hard. Ms Martin said: "Many homes here have been affected. The youngsters seem to add a bit of graffiti every time they walk past."

A police spokesman said: "We are aware of the on-going problems in Swanscombe and as we speak it is getting the bulk of the police activity in the evenings."