The daughter of a Northfleet couple who live next door to a Papa John's takeaway has said she has "snapped" after years of conflict with the restaurant.

Lou Smith, 31, told News Shopper her mum, who lives next to the pizza shop in Perry Street, is "really struggling mentally" with what she describes as the "neighbours from hell".

Miss Smith said the rows between her mum and stepdad, Sharon and Robert Scott, and Papa John's "have been going on for years".

However, in a particularly difficult year for the family - during which Miss Smith has donated stem cells to her brother who is battling lymphoma - they have had enough.

To highlight how her parents have suffered, Miss Smith posted footage on Facebook which appears to show a staff member throwing a tray of dishwater into their garden.

"They have been told by environmental health not to do that," Miss Smith told News Shopper.

And the couple's daughter says this is not the worst the staff have chucked across the fence - claiming they have also found chicken carcasses among the shrubs.

"My mum is a keen, keen gardener. She has got an allotment and she really loves spending time in there.

"This year, she hasn't been able to because we get so much backlash," Miss Smith said, accusing the staff at Papa John's of "bullying and harassing" her parents with anti-social behaviour..

She added her mum is "scared" to spend time outside her house now, and will not enter or leave the house on her own - as she has to walk past the back of the shop to get home.

Over the years of conflict between the couple and Papa John's, Miss Smith also alleges staff have shouted at her 14-year-old son who has ADHD and autism, and on one occasion even punched her mother in the face as she peered through a shared fence.

Mrs Scott did not want to talk directly about the conflict but said through her daughter that she is "scared, upset and stressed by it all."

While Papa John's has confirmed it is aware of the allegations and is taking them seriously, it claims staff at the restaurant have also suffered abuse from the couple, which has been reported to police on several occasions.

A spokesman for the franchise said: “Papa John's is aware of this allegation and takes these claims seriously. We are currently investigating these claims and will take appropriate action.

"We have been made aware this is not an isolated incident involving the neighbour, in which the store has been in full co-operation with the local police, council and environmental health officers who have investigated these claims and have requested this individual (Mrs Scott) stops this intimidating behaviour and action towards our staff."