I read with interest your letters page most weeks and find, on the whole, the Bromley public to be quite moderate in their responses to the goings on in our town.

However, Mark Adam's letter (News Shopper, November 14) filled me with rage.

I wonder what sort of sheltered world he has been brought up in?

He would have us believe all the graffiti is done by budding young artists with neglected brains (his words), keen to have their work on show all over the borough.

Once again, we have someone who is interested enough to sit down and compose a letter telling us how under-privileged our youths are and how we should try harder to understand their plight but offers no solutions to this ever-increasing problem.

I'm sure he would take a somewhat dimmer view on things if he, like me, had his property and vehicles constantly violated by these young vandals.

The cost to have graffiti removed is very high, and anyone who runs their own business will confirm there is no way of having these costs reimbursed, either by the tax man or the local authority.

Finally, to suggest we should not bother to clear it each time because it will only provide a new area to spray is totally ridiculous.

Following his line of thought then, does he think because there will always be thieves we should do away with store security?

The next young artists caught expressing themselves on my property will be marched off the Widmore Road police station where I will demand he or she be prosecuted.

P Johnson

Widmore Road

Bromley

December 5, 2001 02:06