SIR - Following on from Robert Sullivan s letter about unruly teenagers, April 9, I would like to elaborate further and send a message to all the local young hoodlums out there who have every intention of turning this township into an inner city ghetto

SIR - Following on from Robert Sullivan's letter about unruly teenagers, April 9, I would like to elaborate further and send a message to all the local young hoodlums out there who have every intention of turning this township into an 'inner city ghetto'.

My first piece of advice, for these ruffians, would be to just grow up and quit acting like wannabe gangsters. You're not Al Capone or Mad Frankie Fraser, alright?

Secondly, stop listening to 50 Cent and Akon, and go pick up a crate of decent hip hop, from the likes of Big Daddy Kane and Prince Markie Dee.

Third, learn to walk with a straight, steady posture. Walking with a slow-paced limp, with one arm elongated, does not look cool -it makes you look stupid and lazy. My grandmother, can walk faster than some of these kids- she's 92 years old.

Fourth, change your wardrobe : Hoodies with confetti stripes, oversized sweatpants, silly-looking skunk-like haircuts ...all of this must go. Big clothes and big hair is something you see in the circus not on the streets.

Fifth, pay attention in school, get with the ABC program, and learn how to pronounce your words properly! I know I'm not the only one who finds it impossible to understand the incomprehensible, slang-like vernacular which passes off as everyday speech in the 21st Century. Young people might as well be talking Swahili, for all I know.

Number six, petty schoolboy crime, is not very clever and will seriously affect your chances of securing a job when you're older. To reiterate - you're not a gangster living in the ghetto, so don't act like one, ok? Doing wheelies on your 2-Speed scooters and endangering the lives of other motorists is not gangster. Stealing jelly-babies from Martin's newsagent, is not gangster. Posing in front of the camera with BB guns is not gangster. It looks stupid and childish and if you had half a brain, you'd figure it out too.

And finally, there's nothing cool about living in the ghetto. Growing up in an environment which is rife with social disorder, poverty, drug addiction, gang violence, racism, police brutality and drive-by shootings sounds like a nightmare to me. I'm sure 99% of people would rather live in the relatively crime-free world of Welwyn-Hatfield, than trade it with the crime-riddened streets of Crenshaw, LA.

So, for all you wannabe hoodlums out there, terrorizing small kids and old people -- just be glad you don't live in the 'hood, because I can assure you that as soon as the going gets tough, you'd be begging for a return ticket back to the safety of the suburbs.

Name and address supplied.