00:00This is the moment a man was caught on camera smashing the windows of multiple shops in
00:09Maidstone's town centre using a fire extinguisher. Police officers were later seen chasing the
00:14man down Gabriel Hill before he appears to be apprehended on Sunday evening.
00:20And this is what shoppers were met with in the morning. Glass strewn across pavements,
00:24taped off areas and shops boarded up. Devastating. I mean, I've had, you know, I've lost the
00:30business today, possibly tomorrow. I've had to throw away food. You know, if I can get
00:35it to a state where perhaps it's safe, then maybe we'd be able to open and do take away
00:39coffees or something. But at this moment in time, I can't open. As you can see, it's just
00:43a mess everywhere. We've had to move all the furniture out of the way. I've got a hoof
00:46for all the furniture because it's got glass on it. You know, it's just devastating. We're
00:50only a small company. You know, we're only eight in the whole chain. And, you know, one
00:54shop shut for two or three days is a big, it's a major impact.
00:59I've counted eight businesses on this stretch of the high street, which have had their windows
01:02smashed, including the mall shopping centre. And it being a Sunday night, many of them
01:07were closed and told me they only found out when they saw the video being shared online.
01:11I was sitting at home last night and one of the girls on the team shared in the group
01:14chat that someone had been walking up and down King Street, smashing all the windows,
01:18logged on, looked at the CCTV, saw that he'd done two of us. It's frustrating. You know,
01:24you're trying to get on, you're trying to run a business, you're trying to just work from
01:27day to day. And then all of a sudden, Monday, you come in, you've got a full list of things
01:31you want to get done for the week. And all of a sudden, you've now got to go around shopping
01:35a man for quotes, trying to get a new window fitted.
01:38And it's not the first time business owners have reported antisocial behaviour and criminal
01:42damage. In the summer of 2024, two charity statues were targeted, causing thousands of pounds
01:48worth of damage. In fact, the district saw 28.5% increase in the number of reports of antisocial
01:55behaviour last year, with more than 1,700 incidents taken to Kent Police.
02:01As businesses tell me, they hope to return to normal soon. For now, work continues to pick
02:06up the pieces. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Maidstone.
