IF the measure of a country's social order and national pride is the state of its streets, then the poor old UK is in a sorry mess.

It may seem churlish to discuss what some readers might consider a relatively unimportant issue, weighed against the horrors unfolding daily in Baghdad, but a number of recent happenings near where I live have brought home just how far into the dumper we have descended.

In the last four weeks, bus shelters and phone boxes on a stretch of main road have been systematically trashed by a nutter, or nutters, clearly intent on causing as much damage as possible, not to mention the inconvenience for users of public transport and the communications system.

As fast as repair crews arrived to make good the wrecked shelters, and clear mounds of splinted glass, back came the anti-social element to again trash them.

Absolute lunacy.

Sadly, such behaviour is nothing new.

Quite why this type of urban destruction has become so prevalent and widespread is difficult to explain and virtually impossible to understand.

"Experts" appointed to examine and analyse such extreme human behaviour suggest that one underlying factor is resentment at what vandals see as inequalities in the social strata; the have-nots expressing their anger against the haves.

I believe that theory is utter cobblers and that what motivates these wanton acts of destruction is sheer bloody-mindedness. Youngsters who treat school as a joke and put little or no effort into securing even a basic education can have few grounds for complaint if they are jettisoned by the system created to give everyone an opportunity to make something of themselves.

Similarly, social security handouts lead under-achievers to believe they have a divine right to be supported by the state.

They haven't.

That system was not put in place to encourage lay-abouts but to help people who had fallen on hard times through no fault of their own.

When I was working at sea I was fortunate enough to visit Singapore on a number of occasions. You've heard the saying: "You could eat your tea off the floor." Well, in Singapore, you could! The reason was simple. The government operated a strict code of behaviour, with hefty fines for anyone caught littering public places.

I never saw any wrecked bus shelters, phone boxes or similar evidence of vandalism.

Given the official attitude to litter, such behaviour would probably have brought the death penalty.

Here it triggers head-shaking from residents who ultimately foot the bills, more hot air from the apologists and a slapped wrist for anyone unlucky enough to be caught.

The situation will not improve until we do things Singapore-style.

That time can't come soon enough for me.