A worried tenant says she has suffered months of sleepless nights because of repeat break-ins at an empty high street unit near her home.

Noisy rough sleepers and drug-takers have allegedly forced entry on several occasions to a disused shop in Chatham High Street.

It’s part of a slew of anti-social behaviour flagged by residents to Medway Council and the police which they say nothing has been done about despite reporting it “again and again”.

Speaking at a Medway Matters Live event last Wednesday (October 8), where the public quizzed council leader Vince Maple and chief executive Richard Hicks on a range of topics, one distressed neighbour called for more action.

The concerned resident added: “It’s awful and it’s been going on for months. It’s constant and it goes around and around and it’s going nowhere.

“I am regularly kept up by homeless people, druggies and drunks, and I’ve reported it again and again.”

She added she had spoken with the landlord about getting shutters for the unit in question but a complication had arisen because the property technically falls within the Chatham High Street Heritage Action Zone, making it harder to apply for changes.

Medway Council has since confirmed to KentOnline its planning team has given advice and support to the owners of the building with regards to a potential planning application for a shutter.

Cllr Maple said at the meeting he understood the frustration and he and Mr Hicks agreed to speak with the woman following the Q&A to see what could be done about her situation.

The public session also heard how others felt unsafe in the town centre, and asked what was being done to improve it.

Another woman said she was often worried for her mum to go down there and asked what was being done to make the high street safer?

She added: “I think it’s particularly difficult for vulnerable and and older people. There are people screaming their heads off, homeless people begging for money, it’s not clean.

“A number of shops have not reopened. It’s an area you do feel more vulnerable by the fact that there’s not an active police presence.”

The question received a round of applause from fellow audience members.

Cllr Maple and Mr Hicks said work was being done by the council and police to make high streets safer.

The Labour council leader said: “One of the schemes which has had a tremendous impact is the street ambassadors and there are residents seeing a direct impact.

“I think there are some reasons why Chatham has issues, including following the early release scheme which I did not support.

“It’s a priority to make sure these spaces are safe for local people. We can make promises, but I’m not going to say by Saturday everything will be fine.

“It’s my home, it’s in my ward, it’s personal to me. Time will tell if that’s successful, but the alternative is to do nothing, which is not an alternative at all.”

Mr Hick, the chief executive, said reporting was an issue with not all issues raised with the authorities.

“We are finding that because of the situation retailers aren’t bothering to report problems, but this means, unfortunately, the police can’t do anything because they don’t see the full scale of the problem,” he added.

“But the more people there are in the High Street, the more crime goes down. We recently had Child-Friendly Medway’s Super Saturday in the high street, it was really well attended.

“On that day crime was through the floor because there were so many people about. So we need to improve our high streets, make them places people want to be, and we should see that area change.”

Other questions concerned the increase in housing, whether a new hospital will be built, and support for veterans in temporary accommodation.

Cllr Maple dispelled a rumour that properties on the Isle of Grain and in the Chatham Waterfront development were being bought by London boroughs to house people.

He also said the authority was working on bringing in new rules to limit houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).

Cllr Maple added the government currently had no plans to build a new hospital in Medway so the authority had to find other ways to improve the health system.

The Labour leader said this would be done through improving community services, such as through new healthy living centres, as well as plans for the council to build and operate its own care home.

This was the fourth Medway Matters Live, with previous events being held at The Howard School, Rainham, Chatham Historic Dockyard, and the Hundred of Hoo School.

During last week’s event leaders also made presentations about on-going projects in the Towns, including the local plan and local government reorganisation.

In response to concerns raised at the meeting, Medway Council said its community safety team is continuing to liaise with a number of services - including CCTV operators and local police - regarding support to address the reported issues in the area.

“Discussions are also ongoing with the teams which regularly offer support and advice to rough sleepers,” a spokesperson added.

“Chatham High Street remains a priority for our community safety team and we will continue to work with partners to resolve any issues affecting area.”