A MOTHER and her children were left terrified after a group of teenagers kicked in their front door in what is believed to be part of a TikTok craze.
Christchurch mother-of-three Jessica Skinner was sat in her living room last Friday (Nov 26) while feeding her newborn baby.
Her husband was upstairs having just finished work while her seven and two-year-old daughters were dancing in front of the TV next to Jessica.
Jessica, of Millhams Street, said: “Suddenly I heard this huge bang which made us all scream. I lifted my head up to see the front door swing open and smash into a buggy that was by the door.
“I got up and looked outside to see five young boys in hoodies all running away.”
Her husband ran downstairs bare foot to try to catch up with the youths but was unsuccessful. The family’s Shih Tzu dog also made chase.
Following the incident, Jessica has urged parents of young people to help ensure similar things “don’t happen again”.
She said: “I’d like the parents to understand that their kids are causing damage.
“I understand that teenagers get bored and maybe there should be more for young people to do in this area. If more isn’t done then these things will happen, but it’s up to the parents to reprimand their kids.
“This sort of thing happens a lot, but why?”
A footprint was left on the front door of the family home and the frame around the top lock has been cracked.
Jessica, whose newborn is just seven weeks old, added: “We now need to get our door changed and we will install a camera outside to try and stop this happening again. All in all it will cost us around £2,500, right before Christmas, all because these boys thought it would be funny. It’s not right.”
The mother heard two bangs, the second of which caused the door to open.
She believes it may be linked to a reported TikTok trend, in which pranksters loudly bang or kick people’s front doors twice in time with a section of the song Die Young by Kesha.
The incident was reported to police.
This comes just a few weeks after another mother caught someone kicking her front door in the middle of the night in Charminster.
Rose Scott called for action after after she mistook a “ridiculous” TikTok trend for a possible break in.
At the time, TikTok told the Daily Echo that they do not allow content that promotes or enables vandalism, and that they’ve made it easier for their community to report any problematic content that they do see.
They also said that they have a dedicated law enforcement response team whose role it is to work with law enforcement authorities on a case-by-case basis.
A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "We were called at 6.15pm on Friday November 26 to reports of anti-social behaviour outside an address in Millhams Street in Christchurch.
"During the incident it is reported that a group of young people kicked the front door of a property causing it to split.
"An investigation into this incident remains ongoing and officers from the local neighbourhood policing team are aware of the incident and will be carrying out patrols in the area.
"Dorset Police would like to reiterate that there is no place in our communities for anti-social behaviour. Operation Relentless aims to remind residents and visitors that the force takes a tough approach to anti-social behaviour and sends a very clear message to those involved that it simply will not be tolerated in the county.
"We take all reports seriously and will use available powers to prevent people from feeling unsafe."
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