SIR: It's 8.00pm and as I look through my front room window I know it's summer, because it's still light and the sound of a pack of children kicking a football in the street greets you.

Their parents are glad of three or four hours peace, while their unsupervised children 'play' the good old game of soccer. But it does not stop there, fences are broken, cars are damaged and to try and read a book or write a letter, well not till after 9.00pm.

Yes, I've tried asking these responsible parents to let their children play on a public park, where on swearing (mildly) at a 'team' after my front wall was damaged, a father announced he would have me 'sorted'. So come on the council, elected councillors, the police force, ombudsmen, magistrates; in short anybody who will give us 'I've worked hard all day - let me have some peace in the evenings' brigade, some teeth to fight back, before it comes to punching some 'I've come to sort you out father' on his thick nose.

E Whitehead, Little Lever

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.