THE owners of a Newport takeaway have spoken of their fear after hooded youths attacked their shop, smashed a window and threatened to kill them in phone calls in the middle of the night.

But Rakesh Kumar and his wife Paramjeet Kaur, who run Punjabi Kitchen on Commercial Street, say they are determined to stay in the city despite racist slurs and threats aimed at their family.

The couple were first approached at their restaurant on September 22 by two teenagers who tried to sell them a phone cable for £3.

When they did not make the purchase, the youngsters swore at them and refused to leave, said Mrs Kaur.

“We called the police,” she said. “They left and came back with three others, maybe 19 or 20 years old. They pushed my husband and fought with us, they kicked our windows and doors and shouted racist things.

“The police came and they all left, but since then, some of them have come back every day, saying ‘when are you going back to your country, Paki?’ and annoying our customers.

“Last night they threw eggs and broke a 5ft window,” said Mrs Kaur, who has lived with her family in Newport for nine years after living in England and India. “They have threatened to kill us and our children.

“The two youngsters who started it never came back, but the others come morning, noon and night.

“They phone us in the night, sometimes at 2am. When they come they wear hoodies so we’re not sure if it’s the same people.

“We told the police, we are really in trouble, they have threatened us again and again,” she said.

“Where can we go? We’ve never had trouble before where we’ve had to call the police. We have had racist comments before, but we ignore them.

“We are very happy to live in Newport because it’s quiet and the people are friendly,” she said.

“But we are very scared. Our daughters haven’t gone to school because they threatened them as well.”

Mr Kumar said the support from police has not been enough and he would like them to patrol outside the shop to catch those responsible before they run off. (The youngsters) say, ‘are you still here?’ They don’t want us to forget,” he said. “We want to stay. We will stay.”

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said they have received five reports of verbal abuse in the last month.

Two youths aged 16 have been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated harassment.

Both were bailed pending further enquiries.

Another 16-year-old was arrested for racially aggravated public order and has been referred to the Youth Bureau.

“The victims have been supported throughout by Gwent Police and their partners including victim support and South East Wales Racial Equality Council,” said the spokeswoman.

“Gwent Police will not tolerate hate crime and neither should anyone else.

“Please report hate crime to us, each incident will be investigated thoroughly and we will do all we can to ensure offenders are put in front of the courts.”