Staff at a Whitefield supermarket say they are terrified of leaving work by themselves after being subjected to daily abuse from a gang of yobs.
It comes following a report of a group of teenagers 'punching and kicking' staff at Morrisons after being thrown out of the store earlier this month.
Employees have taken to social media revealing it was only the latest in a string of incidents involving the group, which they say have left them feeling unsafe while working until late.
One said: "These boys come in every day and cause havoc. Last night they set fire to a bin the foyer. The smoke alarms were going off.
"Staff who do not have cars are getting taxis home rather than face them at the metro station. Disgraceful."
Another added: "It is only a matter of time that someone is seriously going to get hurt in that store. Sad state of affairs when you don't feel safe in your place of work."
The abuse staff are being subjected came to light after a member of the public took to Facebook earlier this month.
The post on the Spotted Unsworth and Whitefield Facebook page read: "Well just been to the Met at Whitefield opposite Morrisons and can’t believe what I’ve just witnessed.
"2 lads being thrown out of Morrisons around 13/14 years old both in black coats tracksuits one with white writing down the leg. Both looked to have Afro type dark hair, maybe mixed race.
"They were arguing with security and two staff members all male, the older of the two staff members lost his temper and grabbed hold of one of these kids who was hurling abuse at him.
"This resulted in both kids punching and kicking the staff. It was terrifying.
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"I’m sat in my car with my son in clear view of this waiting for my daughter to get off the Met.
"They then ran off and then came back.
"A woman staff member came out trying to calm the situation.
"The lad with writing on pants throws a trolley at the staff and kicks off again.
"He then snatched what looked like the shutter keys off the younger male staff member.
"I have never witnessed such blatant violence and disrespect. They then run off and come back again hurling abuse."
Police say they are aware of 'increased concern' about anti-social behaviour around the store and Metrolink station, and are taking any reports 'extremely seriously'.
Stop and searches have been carried out on youths in the area, resulting in an arrest being made last Saturday.
Inspector Gareth Edwards, of GMP’s Bury district, said: “We are aware of increased concern in the local community regarding recent reports of anti-social behaviour from youths, which seems to be centred around Morrisons supermarket and the Metrolink station in Whitefield.
"I want to take this opportunity to reassure the community that we take these reports of anti-social behaviour extremely seriously and they are being investigated.
“We are currently creating a problem solving plan which will be implemented for the location by our neighbourhood team.
"Officers will be supporting the store’s staff and they will put a strategy in place to try and prevent further incidents occurring.
“Both Morrisons supermarket and the Metrolink station are part of a patrol plan for an ongoing operation.
"Under the operation we have attended the locations and spoken to several groups of youths and have conducted several stop searches.
"An arrest was also made at one of the locations on the Saturday 14th September 2019.
“It’s easy to underestimate the impact anti-social behaviour has on our local communities when in fact, it is very unsettling and upsetting for local residents.
"Communities should be safe and reassuring places for everyone, so I want to assure people that we are dedicated to tackling this kind of behaviour.”
A Morrisons spokeswoman said: "We will do everything we can to support the police in order to keep our colleagues and customers safe."
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