I WRITE in response to the story about boy racers ruining the town centre and participating in so-called "anti-social" behaviour.

I agree with some of the points raised - these meets are a problem, but the problem is not with the cars, it is the people who come along on cycle bikes,skateboards and other means. They are the ones who are ruining it for everyone else.

Anyone who drives like a maniac, putting people's lives in danger, deserves to have the book thrown at them. But the police are not interested in looking at what actually goes on and who is committing the offence.

Instead, it seems they would rather have a one-size fits all anti-social behaviour "cap", and everyone on that car park is wearing one! This is simply not true, and is completely unacceptable discrimination.

On Thursday, June 9, one person brought a marine distress flare and discharged it on the busy car park, kicking it around like a football before throwing it on to the main road.

Did this person have a car? The answer is no, he did not. Did the police do something about it? Again, the answer is no, even though he was seen by at least two officers and CCTV cameras.

My question is, why can someone not charge cars a small fee for entrance on to a private patch of land away from the centre where we can all go and mind our own business, and keep out the troublemakers who just want to cause a nuisance?

This has worked in Warrington, and the events are very successful.

The real problem is the yobs, who really do need banning from the centre, and most of these are not even old enough to drive.

Of course you are always going to get the bad pennies, but this is no different to any other kind of organised events. Look at football for example that is much worse.

Are kids who park and look at each other's cars on a Thursday night for a few hours actually causing any real danger? All they do is play music (which is much quieter than most nightclubs and bars) and show off the cars that most of them have spent thousands of pounds on and countless hours of polishing.

The report of handbrake turns is, quite frankly, laughable. As you can see from the picture, there is not even any room to do a three-point turn, never mind a high speed stunt!

They need to talk to us, the organisers of these events, instead of thinking we are all thick anti-social yobs.

I, and many of my friends, have very respectable jobs and are deeply offended to be branded alongside criminals!

Please accept that this problem is not going to disappear. They tried this in America and it resulted in illegal street races, just like in the film The Fast and the Furious. This is not what we are about.

Cruising is not a crime.

Richard Luke

Astley Bridge