As crowds gathered outside a seafront bar at midnight, a man dressed in black and wearing a balaclava jumped out of a car and waved a machete-like knife in front of panicked onlookers. Seconds later he and two others – also masked – fled the scene in the vehicle, leaving a bystander covered in blood and nursing gaping head wounds caused by a hefty blade. Alarming footage of the incident in Herne Bay’s Central Parade soon surfaced, leading to claims the town had become “lawless”. “Everyone knows you can commit crimes and police are nowhere to be seen,” exclaimed one Facebook user. “It’s definit…