WE are writing to express our disappointment at the terms used in the Times (August 9) article entitled ?Crackdown on street drinking?. Not only did the council officials quoted in the article use condescending language when referring to the ?little boys? that use the skatepark ? these being young people from around the age of 13 to 17, and, it seems, conveniently forgetting that lots of girls use the skatepark too ? but also referring to the troublemakers as being ?youths?. The people that terrorise the skatepark users (and the general population) are not ?youths?, they are adults, 18+ who intimidate the young people with their drinking and aggressive behaviour, which regularly prevents them from using the skatepark. Many of the young people were in support of the drinking ban and, before it was mentioned in the press, had a constructive meeting with Tavistock Community Beat Officer Simon Raeburn to discuss the skatepark. In this meeting, various solutions to the problem of the 18 to 25 year olds were discussed, including CCTV and the drinks ban. What a coincidence it is that this issue, which has been discussed for years, has become public only now.
Lizzie Blowey and Antony Butcher on behalf of Tavistock Youth Council Pixon Lane Tavistock