STAFF at a takeaway say they have been subjected to vandalism, intimidation and racial abuse over the past few weeks.

Groups of teenagers are reported to have been congregating outside Kearsley Pizza and Kebab House in Springfield Road, Kearsley.

According to Mohammad Khan, an employee at the fast food store, the troublemakers have been intimidating customers and staff as well as causing damage to property.

He said: “Over the past few weeks we have been getting large groups of people aged between 10 and 18 hanging around outside the shop between 6pm and 9pm. They have been causing a lot of trouble outside and they come inside, sit on the counter and don’t let customers come into the shop or order their food. There have been times where they haven’t let a single customer come into the premises. It’s a lot of intimidation.”

Mr Khan, aged 52, said there had been several instances of racial abuse. He said: “The doors and one of the windows have been smashed and they shout racial abuse at us. It’s affecting the business and we are fed up. We have been getting to the point where we don’t want to carry it on and this situation is expensive. We’ve had property damage, we’ve had car damage, they don’t let us work and they don’t let customers in. It’s a nightmare.

“It’s very, very serious, especially with the racism. It’s happening nearly every night. There are three people working here. It could be putting our jobs on the line.”

Police met with Mr Khan at the weekend and said officers would begin to patrol the area more regularly.