There has been correspondence on the letters page about children's outdoor play. One yesterday from a Janet Norton (of London) says that when she takes her children to the local park the playground has often been vandalised and beer cans and worse (her word) are strewn around.
On Monday a Mark Fenton from Lancashire relates that he passed a children's play area whilst walking his dogs. A group of about 10 youths were drinking alcohol and smashing bottles so that the area was strewn with broken glass. Walking on a short distance he came across a policeman sitting in his car and told him what was going on. The officer basically told him to go away and report it to the council. The officer remained in his car for another 15 minutes. Anything for an easy life. There is, I believe, a connection between these two stories.
