GANGS of yobs as young as NINE are terrorising a seaside town, throwing trolleys off rooftops, brandishing knives and even assaulting shopkeepers.

Business owners in holiday hotspot Paignton, Devon, say they face thefts, assault and threats sometimes on a daily basis.

With the beachfront town currently heaving with families, business owners along Torbay Road – dubbed the Golden Mile – say crime is a daily reality, with youths openly stealing from shop counters and turning to violence if confronted.

Martin Bullus, 68, who has run Come West clothing store since 1985, was attacked and beaten by a group of kids, some of whom he claims were primary school age.

He said: “There has been loads of trouble with kids and antisocial behaviour. I was assaulted about this time last year, they came in here and swore at me and gave me a load of abuse. They must’ve been aged around 10.

“One evening around 6.15pm I was in here and another lady was working and they crept in, there were about six or seven of them and I threw them out.

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“They started throwing plastic bottles and stones at me. I chased them down the road and the whole lot of them just attacked me. I got punched in the face, which split my eye open.

“The police came and took them home, but when victim support came to see me they said they didn’t want to criminalise them, but the one who punched me would come back and apologise. 

“They later told me the child didn’t want to apologise any more and there was nothing they could do.

“It’s toothless and it emboldens them to do more. They are out of control because they know nothing will happen to them.”

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A police source said the assault was fully investigated, the suspect engaged with Youth Justice systems and the victim was kept informed.

Since the attack Martin has banned under 18s from the shop, which he says has helped tackle crime.

Elsewhere, targeted shoplifting is commonplace, but some incidents are far more serious.

In June a man in his 50s suffered life changing injuries after he was stabbed in the neck inside an ice cream shop on Torbay Road, while an unrelated incident last year saw cops seize a nine-inch knife off a group of primary-school children aged between nine and 11.

And locals also voiced concern about shopping trolleys being thrown off a town centre multi-storey car park, with one local warning it’s only a matter of time before somebody is killed.

Andrew McGarry, 57, who works as a street cleaner in Paignton, said: “You get stuff thrown off the multi-storey car park by Lidl, anything they can get their hands on – including shopping trolleys.

“If one of them were to hit somebody passing it would be lights out.

“There’s a lot of stress on families with the summer holidays and because of the cost of living they can’t afford to do stuff every day, the kids start to go out on their own with no money and nothing to do and they start causing trouble.”

Drug gangs

Organised criminal gangs including 'county lines' drug dealers are said to be specifically targeting primary school kids in the area for exploitation using social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat.

Police and council officials are monitoring 173 children locally who are seen as vulnerable to exploitation.

Examples of crime include stealing mopeds and other vehicles to be used by drug dealers, supplying drugs and joining the ‘county lines’ network which brings money, narcotics and even weapons into the area.

In response, police have just launched Project Noxa, aimed at identifying key individuals causing the most harm in their communities.

But it’s not just teenagers committing crimes. Ryan House, 38, owner of Torbay House of Gifts, says he caught a pair of OAPs swiping items from his shop last week.

He is spending an extra £400 per day on staff to tackle shoplifters but it remains a daily occurrence.

He said: “Shoplifting is a daily occurrence, you’ve got to have eyes in the back of your head. We have 16 cameras inside the shop and throughout the season we employ seven members of staff to tackle shoplifting. I’ve had people get up in my face and verbal abuse. Ages range from kids to people in their 70s.

“I stopped two women in their 60s the other day, they were stealing little things off stands and putting it in their bag. Another one stole a little figure, I collared her and she just pulled it out with no apology.

“When the road was pedestrianised it was crazy, there were fights in the street and a knifing up the road, but since they’ve opened the road it’s clamped down again because people haven’t got anywhere to run.

“When I do catch shoplifters I still try to be polite and just quite straight honest with them, I say I’m not a millionaire, this isn’t a massive company and you’re not stealing from me, you’re stealing from my two kids.”

Inspector Chris Lithgow from Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Throughout the summer season we have increased the number of foot patrols across Paignton, in recognition of the impact of anti-social behaviour (ASB) both on visitors and shoppers but also to the many businesses and retail outlets.   

“We work closely with partners to ensure all agencies are aware of any escalating behaviour problems and support efforts to offer activities as a means of diversion from ASB and crime.   

“Our officers will be visible on the streets as part of wider reassurance work and will deal with anti-social behaviour in a firm and robust manner. This includes using of Section 35 dispersal legislation and dealing with youths involved in violent offences through the youth justice system. 

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“Our neighbourhood teams recently ran the successful Op Loki in the area in direct response to ASB, which is caused by a minority of individuals and tackling this type of issue remains a priority.” 

Torbay Council declined to comment.

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