DEAR EDITOR - A recent letter from A Richardson was both tragic and naive and hardly warrants a response, but he needs to be made aware of just how ridiculous his statements were.

He referred to the dress code of a pub recently featured in your paper, and the fact that a man had been refused being served a drink for wearing a cap.

He then applauds the pub for taking a stance against 'yobs, layabouts, and those featured on Crimewatch wearing baseball caps'.

Mis-informed opinions, and rash comments such as these do nothing but spread rumour and myth. Statistically young people are far more likely to be the victims of crime than to commit it. The media and M.P.'s also enjoy this interesting but largely mythical portrayal (especially in the latter's case at election time), and anyway, if a section of society did have reason to 'lay about', it would be our young people - growing up into an often hope less society they can be left marginalised and dis-affected, and it is no wonder.

It is a shame that Mr. Richardson holds these views, but if he ever did make a visit to planet Earth from his home in cloud cuckoo land, I would be delighted to help him change his mind, with the aid of course of some of the fantastic young people I have met in eleven years of youth work.

Now remind me readers, what is it that adults often say to teenagers .... "grow-up" - are you listening Mr. Richardson?

Robin Rolls,

Bromsgrove.