SIR,

I AGREE whole-heartedly with J.Birchall "Why bother paying council tax." Why bother at all.

I know where Mr Birchall is talking about. I also live around there,. I have seen it with my own eyes. Many cars at different stages of being stripped and burnt, I even hear these thieves driving over the fields at night in someone's pride and joy and sometimes the victims' only means of getting to work.

I am sick of phoning the police. To give an example, one Sunday morning while out walking the dog, I came upon a grey Ford Fiesta half in and half out of the Fir Tree Flash, not badly damage. I phoned the police, told them exactly where the car was, even gave them the colour and registration number. I was told by the police woman "thank you someone will deal with it right away."

Three weeks later, stripped, burnt out, pushed into the water, a wagon came for it.

The police sometimes come over the fields around Plank Lane -- Wigan Road area in their 4x4's or police horses (that we the public have paid for through our council tax) but at midmorning. It's no good coming at that time, the unruly youths are asleep because they have been up all night destroying people's property.

Not interested

In my opinion the police are not interested unless there is a high speed car chase, bank or supermarket robbery where guns are involved or something along those lines, while we the public have to pay extortionate council tax bills and still have to pay through the nose to make our homes and cars burglar proof.

It is about time something was done. These are not adults, we are talking youths.

If the police and criminal systems can't stop them make the parents pay and make them pay hard for letting their kids run riot all night. Where do they think they are? Oh I know 'it doesn't matter as long as there so and so isn't under their feet giving them grief'.

These people are responsible for their off spring. It's about time they were made to pay for their bit of fun.

And as for a council tax increase, we should get a huge discount for putting up with this farce called "The Police Criminal System."

A ticked-off resident,

Wigan Road area.