A retail park in Swindon has been flagged a hotspot for youth anti-social behaviour - with one McDonald’s restaurant singled out for the bad behaviour of "awful kids".

Children aged between 12 and 14 were seen at Greenbridge McDonald’s on Saturday evening (July 20) between 6.45pm and 7.45pm throwing packets of salt, straws and sauce around the seating area while screaming and shouting, which sparked a debate on social media about parents taking responsibility for their children’s actions.

Tamzin Ward said: “People will say it’s only McDonald’s but it’s not the point. Just because it is fast food doesn’t mean you can trash the place for the staff to clean up.”

Paul Jones said: “Obviously I’m not condoning the behaviour of these children but what else is there for them to do these days. The kids are bored! Where are all the facilities like proper parks and leisure centres?”

Susan Webb commented: “Kids are awful these days, but from the comments it’s not all parents. It’s acting hard in front of your mates but more needs to be out there for kids (that they cannot vandalise) but the problem is children are not pulled up on their behaviour.”

Another added: “I am a parent of one of the children that was attending a friend’s party when this had taken place. My children have all been raised to be polite and respectful and I was utterly in shock when I read this and at the thought she’d played any part.

“Had this have been mentioned, we would have ensured that our daughter had cleaned up after herself and apologised to the staff. To blame the parents is just an easy thing to do, it’s the minority not majority, sometimes our 12-year-olds get caught up in the moment and end up mirroring other children’s behaviour.”

Meanwhile, some people said management and staff should intervene to challenge the behaviour and even kick them out, but had noted a trend with similar incidents in the Superdrug and Smyths stores at Greenbridge Retail Park, where teenagers were seen “squaring up” to the security man and destroying makeup products.

Elaine Fulton commented: “Kids aren’t taught manners anymore, please and thank you are not in their vocabulary.

“As for tidying up after themselves, why bother, some other poor hapless soul will do it for them. I wonder if they behave like it in their own home, I doubt it.”

A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We work hard to ensure our restaurants are a safe and welcoming environment for all. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards anti-social behaviour, every restaurant has team members trained in de-escalation procedures and we work closely with local authorities wherever necessary.

“We also believe in playing an active role in local communities and have committed to partnering every one of our 1,435 restaurants across the UK with youth services.

"We’re using the power of youth work to provide safe, welcoming spaces in our restaurants and funding programmes to provide training, real-world experience and opportunities for young people.

 “It’s our mission, that by 2026, we will be supporting 460 youth work projects and 100,000 people in the process.”

Wiltshire Police Inspector David Tippetts said: “We do see from time-to-time groups gathering at fast food restaurants, but it would be hard to say if any anti-social behaviour was linked to those venues. 

“We take all reports of anti-social behaviour seriously, as we understand that this behaviour can adversely affect people’s everyday lives.

"We have recently given officers additional training to tackle ASB, giving them a greater understanding of the ASB tools and powers, and to become ASB advisors for other officers."