Thorny problem

Sir - Anti-social behaviour continues to find new ways of causing the council to spend tax payers' money, picking up the pieces. Having tired of putting soap into the fountain in Parkway, for a while at least, a new way of ending the evening has been found.

Recently, a rose tree in Parkway was broken in two and thrown onto the grass. I don't suppose anyone saw it happen. If they did, would they have been able to do anything about it anyway? To approach teenagers (I know I am assuming here) would have been foolhardy. To phone the police would have been unlikely to get a response in time to achieve any kind of positive outcome.

To do nothing would perhaps have seemed the only safe and sensible course of action.

Unfortunately, the rose cannot be mended like the statue Diana, which was vandalised last year, nor cleared like the fountain every time it is filled with bubbles. It is not so easy just to replace it either, as roses dislike being put where another has been and getting the same type of roses is extremely hard.

CCTV is generally disliked by most but it would appear that the only way to prevent crime and find culprits, is more and more dependent on such measures. Either we have to accept this and the attached costs, financial and social, or we have to be more aware about where our young people have been and what they have been doing.

There is no answer. Most count ourselves very lucky to live in this town, but for how much longer if this sort of mindless behaviour is left unchecked? Shame on us all if this sort of anti-social behaviour continues.

What would help though is if everyone acts by phoning the police, council or councillor, we could work together to best use available resources such as street wardens, CCTV and PCSO's in supporting and maintaining the safety of people in our borough.

Cllr Helen Bromley, (Conservative), Handside Ward.