Street patrols begin to stop Oswestry teen drink problem
Wednesday 13th July 2011, 3:53PM BST.
Street patrols in Oswestry to crack down on under-age drinking have started, with unannounced visits to pubs and shops and booze confiscated from law-breaking youngsters.
Members of The Oswestry Community Alcohol Partnership took part in the start of a series of patrols to help the retail and pub trade combat under-age drinking.
The group visited three pubs and four shops to hand out advice and support.
They walked around three of the town playing areas to speak to youngsters and also visited Trefonen and Gobowen.
During the patrol police dealt with three incidents involving assaults and twice took alcohol off youngsters under 18.
The partnership – Os-Cap – is made up of Shropshire Council’s trading standards service, alcohol retailers, pubs and the community.
Frances Darling, trading standards manager for Shropshire Council and chairman of Os-Cap, said: “Through the patrols, Os-Cap is sending a very clear message to the community, that enforcers and traders are standing side-by-side to help each other prevent underage sales of alcohol both directly and through proxy sales.”
Members of the group plan to continue the patrols.
Shropshire councillor Steve Charmley, responsible for trading standards, said: “The joint patrols aim to enforce, where necessary, but they are primarily about supporting and educating both the trade and customers.”
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Don’t you think it would be a better idea to engage with the youth in something mentally and physically challenging, rather than ostracising them whilst thrashing them with your middle aged piety?
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You a retailer of cider? Cant you see for their health and own respect getting drunk isnt an answer to anything. What are YOU doing about it?
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Did you have clown for breakfast again?
Most alcoholics are in fact middle aged many thanks to the smoking ban. Try spending half an hour next to the supermarket bottle bank at midnight on a Sunday, and I think you will find the amount of SUV’s lining up to dump their contents staggering as they don’t wish the twitching curtain brigade to see what they have left for re-cycling. I assume you are one, having read my post, you clearly haven’t understood.
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ZZ you are miles away, which my friend is no surprise to anyone is it? Another brick in the wall – ring any bells?
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You accuse me of twitching my curtains – whilst you spend 30 mins outside a supermarket at midnight watching SUV’s(oh dear cant afford one ZZ?)spying on middle age people. Think the police should leave the park and study you!!
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“What am I doing about it” I used to teach them!
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Glad you have now owned up to this state of affairs!
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Are you volunteering your services? I am sure they would be accepted
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Aha,seems the teachers are out in force. Dont try you cant bully me. I live 200 miles away so cant help your problems. Kids now wont eat meat – its bad for them, cant be fat so throw up, yet go to the park and get slammed. You been to A&E? Seen the kids having to have their stomachs pumped? You my friends have missed my point, no matter what happens have pride in yourself. Dont opt for the lowest option like “teacher” ZZwhatever says,why give up? The culture here is to stab each other for no reason other than where you live – post code gangs. Come on good old zz what have you been teaching? As JL said if you aint part of cure then your part of the problem.
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No-one is giving up Maj.
We are simply not prepared to bend over unreservedly and have our rectums filled with your quasi autonomous law and moral piety.
You see, twenty-five years ago I too was a teenager, only I spent my time honing my craft, rehearsing and giging.
What was that border town we used to play, I hear myself ask?
Well, that, it, be Oswestry, and on a Friday night they would trundle out of the hills, drink a lot of beer whilst swaying to the interesting sounds we put across. Then they would kick seven bells out of one-another for fun until knackered or the following Friday.
You should be grateful, most people hate change.
I also at the time had a thirty-eight year old girlfriend, so given that set of ingredients I was both physically and mentally stretched to the limit. I certainly didn’t have time to indulge in such frivolous behaviour as swigging cider in the park or for that matter setting up an illicit vigilante service to go and pick a fight with those that do.
Now even without the most elementary grasp of mathematics that would have meant that I, as a teenager at the time would have been entertaining the parents of aforementioned Oswestry teenagers.
You seem to have a lot of unanswered questions in your last post given the marks so I will do the best I can to help you through it.
“You been to A&E Seen the kids having their stomachs pumped?”
No.
I have, however, over the years come around in many A&E departments covered in activated charcoal due to the excesses of the debauched lifestyle often referred to as Rock ‘n’ Roll and more than payed for my own and others health care through my vast contributions to HMRC.
“The culture here is to stab each other for no reason other than where you live-post code gangs.”
You know this is not geographically specific.
In the country, farmers shoot their wives or herdsman with shotguns because they had a bad dream that they were sleeping together.
In small towns they use 9 mm hand guns to get a tenner or a shoddy phone.
In cities they use MAC10′s and in major cities, the public relations departments of significant political interests forget to drop that all important flyer through your letterbox informing you that there is a five ton lorry bomb 700 yards away from your front door and they’re about to make a point.
I am under the impression yours has left the building but in the immortal words of Dave Allen.
“Good night and my your god go with you.”
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OK zz you have made some good points. Some poetic licence I will grant you. Think you are wandering off the orginal point, but interesting to see the thoughts you visit, even tho you dont address any of my points. Look I never said I agree with the anti drink park visitors, just the fact that they can find kids there giving up on everything apart from alchol. Move forward a few years and you will be where I live. Kids = Selfworth zero, life cheap. Negative people zz. First statement youve made about me thats true is yes my god left stage right a long time ago, as Lennon said I believe in me, cos thats reality. With your experience why not start a music themed outlet for the kids, gotta be better than watching the SUV’s my friend.
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When I was a kid in Os in the 70′s there was nothing to do but drink. We were in the pubs at age 14. Surely things are better than that now! If you don’t give them something to do, they’ll drink … or would you rather they took drugs? Eventually the brightest and the best will leave Os and never come back .. because you have nothing for them to do.
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Drugs my friend are not the answer, altough it is a scenic route. 2 wrongs do not make a right. Say if you had no money – youd mug a little old lady? The old excuse – we have nothing to do…Arent this generation better qualified than before? DO SOMETHING YOURSELF. Who is ever gonna give them something to do? Does everyone have to be spoon fed? Dont hold us to ransom – give us a table tennis tournament or we will drink or…take drugs. The backbone of our people is going. Ask your grandparents they are the only ones left who dont give in. Nothing to do but drink = still doing nothing!
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O.K. Soap Box minority, please enlighten us all with your pearls of wisdom as to how you prepose to bridge the social divide.
Playing devil’s advocate on this thread is not going to rectify the social ills of Oswestry and stroking teenager’s fur backwards is hardly likely to encourage them to play ball with you. Local vigilante groups will end in reprisals. “Mark my words”. “The Audience Is Listening”
Yes, I did teach but you wont find my students in the park drinking cider as most are now in their mid thirties with young families of their own to worry about.
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Thought the zz in your name was cos you send people to sleep, but no that last post was quite amusing! So, it was you who taught the people who you watch in their SUV’s who are alcholics cos we took their cigarettes away? Mmm good job 94. Look all Ive said is PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE RESPECT FOR THEMSELVES. It isnt a race to the bottom. Why do you keep asking for someone to come along with all the answers? Where I am if you come from the wrong postcode your gonna be in trouble. You however are in a position to help the community. Spouting hate against middle Britain wont wash pal.Ask what can I do for my community…..perhaps you are too far gone now.
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Its true, I’m 17 and luckily I know what I want to do with my life, and I’m one of the very few that doesn’t really drink alcohol and do my best to get away from Oswestry. If you want my age group to stop drinking give them something to do, honestly what is there do to for us? The nearest cinema is Wrexham or Shrewsbury which costs a lot with public transport and even the cinema gets very boring.
Doing street patrol what’s that going to do? force them to go somewhere else out the way and they will keep changing places and then they will just do it in there homes. This you need to re think this and talk to the people not presume you know what to do.
If you don’t give them something to do and take away alcohol then they will just move on to drugs, and other crime. think about the big picture and long term solutions.
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What a bizarre set of comments above. Basically two people having a ranting match with increasingly little relevance to the original article. I can’t even work out the points that they are attempting to put across. You need to say what you mean much more clearly and concisely, lads!
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