"" I get quite cross when these feckless and idle young people whinge that 'there's nowhere to go and nothing to do.'""

There are two sides to most stories Eliza. There's a group of about ten or twelve local teens who have, by dint of surveillance cameras and hassle from both shopkeepers and police, been driven away from our small town centre.

I used to feel intimidated by them with their hoodies hiding their faces, but they've settled on a low stone wall in our cul-de-sac, about twenty yards from my back gate, as a place to sit and hang out.

Acting on a suggestion from my son, who is a secondary school teacher, instead of trying to get them moved on, I stopped by to chat with them on a balmy summer evening and found them polite and respectful (once I had made it clear that I wasn't trying to shift them), shared a couple of hours of stimulating conversation and a bottle or two of shandy.

I talked with them about what was lacking and found that they were quite certain that local authorities cater very well for children, but don't have a clue as to what is needed for teens.

I mentioned youth clubs and scouts etc. and was surprised to find that the activities and guidance, games and such are exactly what they don't want. As one of them said to me ""When you were sixteen, did you want to go to anywhere that was run by somebody the same age as your Dad?""

They just want somewhere that they can hang out free from adults and buy a few soft (ish) drinks, and natter and socialise with their own age group.

I'm not saying that there are no feckless louts, but it's probably worth checking to see if they are really what you believe. You might get a surprise.

I regularly sit with them for a while on those nice summer evenings, and they welcome me as a friend.

We haven't had a tyre slashed or a car window broken for about four years.

The glass in my back door was smashed two weeks ago by a twelve year old from the other end of the estate and the police had the name and address of the culprit in less than an hour.

Just saying we don't always understand what it is they need and they are worth a second look.

Don T.