History shows that the herd instinct goes back a long way – for example, the tribal way of life.

Some teenagers here who haven't done well at school and whose families don't care about them, are not religious and don't give their offspring a moral code to live by, are the type who form gangs, which are the current-day tribes.

They are fanatically loyal to their own gang members and have their own territory.

They are dedicated to wounding or worse to each other, so we must use methods to give them good ambitions and interests to enable them to compete with their opposing gangs in harmless ways.

We should compel these gang members, especially those found to be carrying knives, to form athletic and sports clubs and provide free equipment, training and other incentives for attending a number of hours a week.

I think it would be a worthwhile use of lottery money to subsidise it.

I wonder how many potential Olympic champions would have been missed if they had not been helped to take up their particular sport.

These clubs could then compete against each other in a harmless, but exciting way, and, who knows, among them could be potential champions for future Olympics – and the country and government would save money and lives in the future.

Len Myers
Wilmot Road
Shoreham


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