This is the moment TikTok yobs were caught on camera booting a family’s front door as part of a ‘sinister’ social media trend causing havoc across the UK.
The two youngsters were recorded in London filming themselves banging on a door to the beat of Kesha’s 2021 dance hit, Die Young.
It is part of the so-called ‘heartbeat’ challenge, which shows TikTokers playing the chart hit, bashing on doors and sprinting away before it opens.
The trend first made an appearance in 2021 and was popular across colleges in America, with some videos racking up millions of views.
But in recent weeks has been rearing its head once again across the pond in the UK, with a new generation of pranksters now appearing to be taking part.
Two youngsters were filmed taking part in the so-called ‘Heartbeat’ challenge TikTok trend in London
It is blighting towns, cities and villages across the UK and has seen some youngsters destroying unsuspecting strangers’ doors as they boot them.
Pensioners living in the tiny village of Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire, have been left terrified by pranksters, who are now plaguing the community.
In one street, villagers have resorted to installing video doorbells and CCTV cameras to catch out the yobs.
Among the latest victims were Pamela Russell and her partner Brian Johnson. They were watching TV on a Saturday evening when yobs bashed their door.
‘We were sitting watching true crime stories in the living room when a huge bang shook the whole house,’ Pamela, 50, told The Times.
‘It felt like the walls had bounced. I thought they’d taken a run up at the door and gone in with two feet.’
The yobs were reportedly scared away by the couple’s border collie, Amber, who was left shaken by the attack.
Another woman, 82, in the village thought she was being burgled when she heard loud thumps on her door.
The craze, shows TikTokers filming themselves banging on a door to the beat of Kesha’s 2021 dance hit, Die Young before then running away. Some videos have racked up millions of views online. Pictured are pranksters in London
It is part of a trend that has since swept the UK, with residents in one village – Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire – having been left terrified by pranksters, who are now plaguing the community. Pictured is the incident in London
‘I was still shaking the next day, until my 14-year-old granddaughter said it was a silly TikTok trend,’ she said.
‘You would have thought if it was a prank there would be laughter, but this was really sinister.’
Local radio DJ David Thomas said that although the trend may seem a joke to some, it can leave vulnerable residents shaken.
Residents have also reported similar TikTok hooligans in Barnsley and South Yorkshire.
The trend has previously prompted warnings from police, too.
It came after a pensioner’s door in Hemel Hempstead was wreaked by yobs doing the challenge in October 2021.
The incident prompted a furious response from local officers, who blasted social media thugs taking part in the trend.
Speaking about the craze, PCSO Sarah Rex from Herefordshire Police told Liverpool Echo: ‘It’s not just a bit of fun – it is frightening, anti-social and, in some cases, illegal.
‘We will be investigating each report and looking to identify those involved before taking appropriate action.’
Have you been targeted by TikTokers taking part in the so-called ‘Heartbeat challenge’? Email [email protected]
DailyMail
