Her parents must be very proud of her.

I have been the village barber in Cuddington for 33 years on March 3 this year, and I have never seen a village go down as quickly as this.

It is ironic that I went to Mere Lane shops the previous Wednesday and I stood by the library and thought that the scene looked like Moss Side.

I thought to myself how very sad it was that the people of Sandiway and Cuddington have to put up with this way of life.

I think that it is very unfair to blame the parish councillors and the police. But I think the police have made a very bad mistake by doing away with a local bobby.

The local bobby, in my opinion, could stop something happening before things get out of control. There used to be a local bobby on call 24 hours a day when I first came to the village.

I was born in Davenham and I was no angel when I was a teenager, but I didn't smash windows or destroy other people's property.

If I ever strayed out of line, which I did sometimes, PC Bebbington put me on the right road and this is what villages are missing these days.

To those who are destroying the property of Sandiway and Cuddington, if they want to get rid of some of their energy, why not come jogging with me on a Sunday morning at 7am?!

JIM WATSON

Norley Road, Cuddington.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.