A GANG of about 40 youths aged 10 to 16 armed with bottles, stones and at least one knife chased and cornered a man in a Kidderminster pub.

Police were called after the gang, who threw stones and bottles, stood hurling abuse at the victim inside The Olde Seven Stars, banging on the windows and demanding for him to be brought out.

Seven Stars licensee Richard Eustace described the scene on Friday night in Coventry Street as "like being in a football riot" and said his partner was now afraid to leave the pub during the day.

And Tap House licensee Andy Hipkiss warned the incident was the latest in a series of town centre attacks by youths.

Ten people were arrested after the disturbance on Friday and released on bail. Police inquiries are continuing.

Mr Eustace said the riot, which broke out just after 9pm and continued for nearly an hour, had been sparked by an incident the week before outside McDonald's.

A gang of youths, which regularly hung around outside the restaurant abusing passers-by and customers walking to The Olde Seven Stars and The Tap House, had hit a woman with a stone as she walked by with a group of about four people.

An altercation followed, he added.

On Friday, the youths spotted one of the men from the group and gave chase, forcing him to take refuge in The Olde Seven Stars for safety.

Three people suffered minor injuries in the subsequent disorder which Mr Eustace and four of his staff attempted to defuse before sending for the police.

"The youngest was probably 10 and the oldest was 16," said Mr Eustace. "They were walking up the street as confident as you like. It was like being in a football riot. It was scary."

Mr Hipkiss said in December a man unloading musical equipment from a van outside his pub had been abused and attacked by youths with a golf club and more recently a man walking along Worcester Street had also been abused and hit in the back by a bottle.

"It's happening pretty much every weekend now," he said. "It's putting people off walking around the town. It's difficult for people to know what to do. If they react they're the ones likely to be in trouble with the police."