A VULNERABLE couple whose home has been boarded up to protect them from yobs say they are desperate to escape their "prison" hell.

Peter and Pauline Day, both ex-patients from Stone House Psychiatric Hospital, have lived in a council flat in Bridges Drive, Temple Hill, for six years.

They say their lives have been ruined by gangs of louts who verbally abuse them and target their home for vandalism.

To stop the property being further damaged and the couple being harmed, Dartford Council has put metal shutters on the front windows and door.

According to the couple and concerned neighbours, who asked not to be named, the yobs target the flat daily.

One neighbour told News Shopper the teenagers have turned tormenting the couple into a "sport".

Now the couple, who married soon after leaving hospital care, are appealing for the council to re-house them.

Mr Day, who spent more than a decade in hospital after suffering a mental breakdown, says they cannot take any more.

The 49-year-old said: "Every night they shout abuse at us. They call us tramps.

"You can't say anything to these kids. If we talk to them we might get rubbish thrown in our faces."

Mrs Day, 52, who was in and out of psychiatric care from the age of 15, said: "We are desperate to move.

"They make fun of me because I'm disabled and threatened me with a plank of wood last week."

Inside their airless flat there is no natural light because of the graffiti-covered shutters which board it.

The couple, who are visited once a fortnight by a social worker, say they have been asking the council to re-house them for more than a year.

Kent police have confirmed officers have attended disturbances at the couple's home 17 times in the past year and are working on a solution.

But Mrs Day added: "We are happy to be out of hospital but these problems are getting out of control.

"Our home looks like a prison and we are frightened to live here."

Ward councillor John Muckle said: "I deplore the way this couple have been treated by youths around the area.

"We are aware of the situation and the council is in close contact with the police and social services and is doing its level best to resolve the issue.

"This is being dealt with as an emergency situation and is a priority for the council."

He added: "I don't have any idea about the time frame in which they can be rehoused.

"But if the council has boarded up the property, it has clearly taken control of the situation as best it can until a more suitable property becomes available."

Temple Hill community warden Steve Cross says he is aware of the problems the couple face and regularly patrols their estate.

Mr Cross added if they are rehoused in his area, he will continue to patrol near their home.