I do not condone the savage attack by a motorist whose car had been hit by a plastic ball in Chislehurst High Street.

But, in spite of large notices saying "No ball games" in the car park adjoining the High Street, and presumably the approach to it, some teenagers totally ignore these signs and continue to play roller-hockey in this area.

Many times I have been in this car park and seen boys playing hockey near and even around the cars.

I have often wondered what the motorist is supposed to do when he or she returns to their car and finds a huge dent in the side of the car, or the windscreen shattered, causing £400 of damage or more!

Mrs Bakewell says: "The boys had no intention of doing any damage." But the point is, they shouldn't have been playing in this area in the first place. And what if the ball had hit an elderly person rather than a car?

Name and address supplied

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.