While enjoying an afternoon stroll last Friday afternoon during a well deserved trip to my home town of Devizes I was shocked and saddened at the amount of litter strewn across the delightful green.

What amazed me was the copious number of bins available and the scarce number of individuals willing to use them. Included in this litter mountain was a significant number of empty bottles of alcoholic beverages and empty cardboard boxes which had contained these glass bottles.

On a positive note whilst visiting St James Church on the Saturday morning I was delighted to see that all the litter has been cleared up by the efficient street cleaners from the local council.

However, I was again shocked and angered when I passed two hours later to again see the potential tourist area of the green covered in rubbish.

On closer inspection I noticed a number of groups of teenagers all around the age of 14 openly drinking bottles of beer from crates obviously purchased from the local supermarkets.

My questions are: 1. Why is this tolerated when the area has a zero-tolerance on public drinking of alcoholic beverage and 2. Where is the local police to control these pubescent youths drinking illegally? Where is the local bobby on the beat patrolling this area?

In my day the local beat bobby would have been patrolling this area every hour or so, we would have been clipped around the ear and taken home to our parents where we would have received a good hiding no doubt. Harsh but fair I feel.

Another sign of broken Britain reaching our lovely market town.

Marjorie Stobbs, West Blatchington, West Sussex.