Move 'em to a working class area, like wot Boycie cums from!

We live near a very small home for abused kids and yes there's a bit of trouble, but nothing compared to what these kids have been through. I'm sure if I had my house broken into I'd be angry, but would clm down and understand. Where else can they go? Why shouldn't they live in a nice, safe place?

Oh and John Challis you sound like a spoilt brat. Ahhhhhhh how awful you cut short your wonderful holiday to come home to your expensive house because a few kids broke in. Most people can't afford to live in a beautiful, safe village and this sort of thing is normal in some areas.

So he can have a nice life, but those who aren't as lucky as him can't?

Is it class or nimbyism or both - involve the kids in your community, teach them the way of the countryside, let them make benches, cut grass or paint the village; let them be proud of the village by involving them not turning them away. John Challis should be standing up for people who have a rough deal in life, that's how he got where he is today by highlighting this on shows like Only Fools - may as well be Only The Enriched Fools and their Horses.

So the hard working John Challis does not have any rights to a peaceful life here in Shropshire?

What pathetic, typical lefty comments from idiots who do not have a clue about the real world.

If one of these feral kids dared to come on my property, they would be in big trouble. I don't give a rats a*se what they have been through - I had to live with a drunkard father and a manic depressive mother, and once I reached 16 I left and made a better life for myself.

The 'pity me, pity me' attitude does nothing but drag society backwards.

It isn't just John Challis who's complaining though, is it? It's the whole community and not just him who have been affected - hence the packed public meeting. The fact that he's newsworthy is not the news - the fact that the whole community is fed up, is.

Its amazing to me that people condone anyone breaking an entering. You people need to comment after your own houses have been wrecked. The people in charge of these hooligans need to teach them respect. Respect for themselves, respect for others, and respect for other peoples property. Discipline maybe a dirty word these days, but its whats missing in our society.

Why is John Challis entitled to a peaceful life any more than the next person?

We have been robbed and the lad who we caught on the premises had a very privileged upbringing but felt entitled to come into our house and take whatever he could lay his hands on quickly to pay for booze and drugs.

Let's be honest some (not all) of these youths are monsters. Perhaps it's time bring back borstals and even the birch.

Abandoning a holiday in Hawaii seems something of a hissy fit. When my house was broken into while I was away it wasn't necessary to return immediately as the police very efficiently arranged for the place to be secured. Malt whisky is only 'stuff'. Nobody is immune from petty crime. I live in a nice part of Shrewsbury yet have been burgled five times and had three cars vandalised in the twelve years I have been here. The only alternative is to live as a prisoner in a gated 'community'. Maybe that would suit the actor better.

There is no excuse for criminal behaviour and if Mr Challis feels that the law has been broken I would consider the appropriate action is to seek a conviction against the two youngsters for breaking and entering, burglary or tresspassing on private property. But depriving three children of a home when they have been abused and cannot live at home due to circumstances completly beyond their control seems abit harsh to put it mildly.

Mr Challis did not fly straight home when he heard his house had been brokenin to...its my understanding he stayed on holiday for a further 2 weeks before coming "straight home". Also the two children that lived at the home have been removed. I understand Mr Challis' anger but put it in context and don't punish 3 young people who did not break into his home for the sins of others.

Strikes me Mr Challis is throwing his weight and political influence around in order to increase the value of his property... Also can alyone else sense a bit of NIMBY..Not in my back yard.

If residents are concerned they should be campaigning for the home to be taken into local authority control. A private firm will always put efficiency and profit before social welfare.

[Did he say he was? He was speaking about the whole village and including everyone in those comments.

Please read whole story before commenting.]

Ok, Woody, so someone who is most famous for a spoof/comedy on wheeling and dealing, fraud and petty crime is now using his fame as an actor to draw attention to the plight of these special case villagers who happen to live where he does and are apparently more entitled to a peaceful life than the rest of society.

Its fantastic that there is nobody unemployed in this idyllic village, a real cocoon from the real world eh.

When Besford House in Shrewsbury was a Local Authority Children's home, I remember locals wanting it closed down, moved you name it, so I don't think your suggestion is likely to make a iota of difference Catherine.

On the other hand perhaps these children could be moved back to somewhere like Besford House because i'm not sure that the pedigree of folk living in a town like Shrewsbury is as high as this village.

[Eva, what he did as an actor makes no bearing on this issue. Yes he is an actor and yes he lives in this village, hence why the Shropshire Star highlighted this fact. He has not, however, used his so-called fame to further highlight this issue he is just another concerned resident who had his house broken into it and attended this meeting.]

So who let the Shropshire Star know and why has it been given so much attention if he and the village are not trying to profit from his celebrity status?

[Eva/Ed – the problem lies with people like you. It does not matter where, when or whom crimes are committed against or indeed where the Children’s home is located.]

I totally agree so it is no problem it staying there then is there?

I haven't clouded the issue, Gill said:

[The fact is that a whole community of professional and manual-working, working and retired, old and young, incomers and families who have farmed here for generations, have come together to vote unaminously that after a decade of upset,]

In other words ordinary people who have no right to push problems on to other ordinary folk as we are all, as you say protected by the same laws in this country.

Unless you are actually suggesting we bring back capital punishment who do you suggest deserves/merits these children as neighbours?

[Hi Eva – sadly I know two people who have worked at the home who have been so unhappy they lasted just weeks – chaotic and unsupportive management]

I work with someone who has worked with a similar set up and left due to lack of respect for the management. You can frequently experience alongside the stringent government rules, extremely poor pay for massive responsibility and panicky leadership but find it is grouped together with unsupporting communities, bad press and seriously dysfunctional clients who more often than not have emerged from those very same unsupporting communities.

[‘night thine economy’]

I thought you were referring to the street pastors who anger and irritate as much as they may help some users of the night time economy.

As there is no true way of assessing their usefulness or otherwise they can pat themselves on the back as doing duty for their God never troubling themselves that they could have made a vulnerable person's situation worse rather than safer.

What the young people (anyone under 35 in my view) say is that the cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham etc are safer than small towns like Shrewsbury, Whitchurch and Wem.

There are places you would avoid in a city but in Shrewsbury trouble is more random and gangs are a form of entertainment for those who are bored or not able to escape the confines of a retirement town.

I have a similar story.

Whilst on a weekend away, my mother rang in tears to say she had just seen an episode of "The Green Green Grass" starring John Challis. It was that bad I came straight home from my holiday to comfort her.

I was quoted at the time and said:

“Mr Challis had appeared on my mother's TV and immediately caused panic with his one dimensional acting style and in addition there was no David Jason to be seen anywhere".

“The strength of feeling is very strong. We have been going through ever poorer Only Fools and Horses episodes for 10-years. But with the appearance of this show, now the community have had enough, this was the last straw.”

It is all good and well making statements along the lines of "these children need to be taught some respect and discipline" but how on earth do you suggest that simply moving the children to a different area will contribute to this goal? It's not a question of whether moving the children will be of any benefit to society but simply that many in the local community do not want it on their doorstep. In which case they are perfectly happy in leaving the problem with the next town or village that the children are relocated to. Move them to an area with more criminal activity and it is likely that they will be encouraged to engage in such acts more so.

What a shame he had to cut short his luxury break in hawaii. Lets ship the kids far away so they don't disrupt your quiet peaceful lives eh. Ridiculous. Try having some understanding and maybe try and help... or is that too much like hard work? Why help when you could be lay on a beach in Hawaii .