Melton McDonald's plagued by anti-social youths - police

Police said anti-social behaviour at the McDonald's was a recurring problem, adding there had been a spike over the past six weeks

A McDonald's restaurant is being plagued by youths harassing staff, damaging property and letting off stink bombs, police said.

Leicestershire Police confirmed there had been a spike of anti-social behaviour at the Melton Mowbray site over the past six weeks.

The force said there had also been reports of assaults at the site.

Officers have stepped up patrols at the location in response, but added no arrests had been made.

The Melton Police team said on Facebook officers would soon be visiting some youths - aged between 12 and 16 - to issue "a minimum of a banning notice from the store".

Some will be interviewed "for more serious offences".

"McDonald's are suffering a lot of anti-social behaviour at present.

"If you know your children to be attending McDonald's, please speak to them about their behaviour and remind them that the staff don't deserve abuse," the team added.

'Deeply disappointing'

A spokeswoman for McDonald's said it had a "zero tolerance" policy on crime and anti-social behaviour.

She added: "The safety and security of our people and our customers is our absolute priority and it is deeply disappointing that a minority of our customers are behaving in this way.

"We will continue to work closely with the police and support any of their ongoing investigations."