Children urged to behave this Halloween (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Children urged to behave this Halloween

WILTSHIRE police have appealed to young "trick or treaters" to be considerate of the feelings of older members of the community when they go from door to door on October 31.

The American tradition of asking for sweets and other treats or risk having the outside of your house daubed or smeared with egg, flour or something worse is now an accepted part of the British Halloween.

But police officers say that some householders may not wish to be disturbed by unexpected callers, particularly during the hours of darkness.

They are appealing to parents across the county to be aware of their children's activities and behaviour this Halloween and the force has produced posters for people who do not want to receive "trick or treat" callers.

The posters can be downloaded from the Wiltshire police website, www.wiltshire.police.uk, or collected from local police station enquiry offices.

Inspector Nick Bancroft said: "Halloween is exciting for young people who enjoy dressing up and it is a minority of young people that go too far with trick or treating.

"What initially starts out as fun sometimes turns into crime and anti-social behaviour.

"We ask that people consider the feelings of others this Halloween and appeal to parents to ensure their children behave in a sensible way.

"Some people don't want to be disturbed at Halloween and so posters have been produced to make trick or treat callers aware.

"We hope that youngsters will respect these posters and will not stop at houses displaying them."