WILTSHIRE Police have called for parents of teenagers in Devizes to help them clampdown on a new social media craze which is scaring young mums.

The craze, made popular on the TikTok video-sharing system, involves young people hammering so hard on front doors with their feet that frightened residents fear an intruder is trying to kick their door in.

The antisocial trend first came to light a week ago after a young mother living near London Road reported on social media that she was terrified by violent bashing on her front door late at night.

She posted: “Last night at around 10.50 pm someone tried to kick my front door down, this has sent me into a really bad state of anxiety.”

The mum, who said that the kicking was so hard that it left a boot imprint of her door, added: “My children were sleeping and my first instinct was to check on them.

“This has worried me greatly that someone could do this and I have taken today off work due to how nervous this has made me. My children are also off school today due to being awake through the night.

“My friend across our road has CCTV and the road is covered by this, but I cannot help but be worried this is going to happen again.

"It really was a horrible thing to happen, the police have been informed but I wonder has this happened to anyone recently?”

Following the post, many other mums reported similar incidents in the London Road area and in Brickham Road and Forty Acres Road.

One posted: “There was another incident last night down Brickham Road, four boys, one on a bike, being intimidating and also banging on some young lady with kids’ house! I bet the parents are well proud!”

Another resident added: “A family member of mine had this a few days back down the London Road area, they were four kids on bikes and they kicked through the door really hard.

“When my grandad went out to say something, they gave him the finger told him to eff off. Apparently he wasn’t the only one in the area to get this that night.”

As more mums posted that they had also been the victim of the craze, one mother explained: “It’s a TikTok craze at the moment, my son showed me the video yesterday.

“It is anti-social and scares the life out of people. Social media has a lot to answer for, it’s always worse this time of year around, with Halloween too.”

Another said: “It sounds like the same lads I had an encounter with, the kid with the dark hair was very intimidating.

"This terrorising of the town got to stop. Bring it up at a town council meeting, it’s anti-social behaviour.”

Other residents have suggested that victims of the TikTok kick knocking complain to the Wiltshire Police Commissioner, or call the town’s Bobby Van to provide advice on security and safety. A private security guard has offered his services to protect the worried mums.

Wiltshire Police has urged parents who suspect that their children may be involved to rein them in.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We would like to remind everyone to be aware of the concern and distress that this type of anti-social behaviour could cause.

“What might seem to be a bit of fun to one person, could in fact leave someone else, particularly someone who is elderly or vulnerable, feeling very frightened.

He added: “We would also urge parents to speak to their children if they believe this might be something they could be involved with, and ensure they understand the potential consequences of their actions.”