'Beccles Mafia' reported to police for harassing elderly shoppers

A group calling themselves the 'Beccles Mafia' have been reported to the police for harassing elderly shoppers in the town.

Reports of anti-social behaviour have been made to Suffolk Police following incidents, including outside the Tesco Superstore on George Westwood Way.

One Beccles man confronted the group after seeing them harass an elderly shopper.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "As I left the store an elderly gentleman was in front of me and we walked past four young lads, all with hoods up and masks on, standing by the exit.

"One of them said 'hurry across granddad' and then 'he's got beer, shall we get it?'

"At that point I stopped and confronted them, but I realised they were kids and decided it was best I just left it."

The resident claimed the group watched him packing his car, before swearing at him. The tallest of the four then began dancing in front of a trolley and causing an obstruction on the road.

He said: "I stopped my car and confronted the lad and asked what they were doing.

"He stepped up to me so I stepped up to him and he backed down, then told me 'when my dad finds you, you're getting whacked'.

"I told him the elderly fought for him to have a life and they should respect them, and I walked away getting abuse."

A spokesperson for Tesco said staff were working closely with police to deter those involved.

They said: “We are aware of the anti-social behaviour in Beccles and are sorry it’s affecting the local community.

"We are immediately reporting any instances that occur outside our store.”

It comes as a video was posted to TikTok last week by the user @becclesmafia1, with the caption 'We are the only gang in Beccles'.

The seven-second video shows four hooded people, three wearing balaclavas and the fourth smoking through a face covering and wearing a cap, standing outside the Tesco store.

A Suffolk Police spokesman said: “We are aware of the group and continue to regularly monitor the situation and attend the area with patrols to tackle the situation.

"It remains a priority for us to address.”

In 2019, residents in Bungay reported a group of anti-social youngsters had been intimidating people in the town and calling themselves the 'Bungay Mafia'.