I wouldn't have challeneged them - too scared of consqeuences!
Luckily the guy on my road was brave, and the kids were only youngish (12-14), and were more talk than anything else!

I think if you can get them young enough you can talk to them and try to get them to understand the consequences of their actions...or just slap them (only joking) Although it never did me any harm

xx

when i was young we was being abit noisy outside. and this guy came out and had a go at us. i was cheeky to him. and my god i ran. i was terrified that he would find out where i lived and tell my parents. never did it again.
but this was the time when if u did do something wrong. the local copper marched u home and gave u a right telling off in front of your mum n dad. then stood there while dad gave u a walloping.
never wanted that to happen. the worse we ever heard of was a phone box being broken into.

This was how it was when we grew up..we were a bit norty but never meant anyone any harm.

The update was that the police phoned us last night, they were checking with everyone that had made a complaint..and we were pleased to tell them that there had been no snowballs yesterday

Now this could have been for a number of reasons but they agreed that it could have scared them, the fact that Clive followed them, hung around after they had split up and hid, and that if they had been watching Clive they would have seen him talking to the police. Maybe, just maybe they have realised that they took it too far and that Clive obviously meant business. He told me that he got a few yards from them and asked which one was the bravest...it was at this point they all looked at each other, split up and went in different directions

We are expecting more snow later today...maybe they will be back but the same thing will happen, Clive will follow them until the police arrive...they will get fed up with him spoiling his fun and the police will get fed up with people ringing in to complain...maybe they will arrange for some sort of police presence to be around for a few days, just incase

A few years ago my Dad challenged some teenagers at the park who were throwing bangers at our dog. One of the lads squared up to him, my Dad is only 5'6" and this lad was over six foot. The lad raised his fist as though to punch my Dad, and my Dad floored him. The rest of the gang followed him home and next news police were there. My Dad got a caution, but could have been done for assault, even though he was defending himself. As much as you want to stand up to bullies, the law does not protect those who do. The law is a ass!

Sheree, just minutes before reading your OP I was on Yahoo News site and I was reading about the deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca (Who was 18 and severly disabled) both had suffered from anti social behaviour for more than ten years and more than 30 complaints to Police had been logged but nothing was done and what happened Fiona decided to drive with her daughter to a layby, park there, and kill both herself and her daughter.

She was driven to such a horrible death purely because of the actions of the 'beasts' who lived nearby and who continually taunted and abused the two of them.

So you ask for my opinion and it's this - A line has to be drawn between fun and criminal activity, parents have a duty to instill in their children what that line is and what the difference between criminal damage (Like breaking windows) and fun (Like throwing a snowball in a field with no elderly or vulnerable people around)

And if the parents will not undetake that duty they should pay and be forced to do so, if necessary going to jail.

I am sick to death of people who think that just because they can produce a child that their responsibilities end the moment the little sprog pops out of the womb, that is when responsibilty begins not ends

P.S.
Three Leicestershire Police officers are being 'investigated' as a result of Fionas death, fat lot of good that will do the poor women now.

You're absolutely right, so the law should be changed, but the minute you start talking about toughning up the law all the bleeding hearts and do gooders come out of the woodwork and our politicians are so scarred of these people they will not do anything.

So how the hell did we get from that situation to the one we're in now where the local copper would be arresting your Dad

Do you consider yourself to have been traumatised by any smack on the bum your Mum or Dad might have administered

Oh sorry I shouldn't write that 'cos one of those lawyer hawks will be writing to you offering you a small fortune as compensation

its o ok i wont sue lol
no i wasnt traumatized by a belting from dad. in fact it made me think twice. i can count on 1 hand how many good hidings i got from my dad and i respect him for it..ok i didnt at the time. he was a firm but fair man.
but now u cant punish a child for misbehaving. its gone to extremes.
when i was with my ex we used to live on an estate which was the roughed estate in our town. actully tony blair came to visit once and craylands was discribed as the worse estate in england.
the kids where toally out of control. muggings. a lirrle girl was raped IN HER OWN HOME THERE and it was hell to live there. i would of quite happily put my head down and kept off the kids radar. but my ex was 1 of them who went out and screamed abuse at them. and it made our place a target,eggs up the wall. dog mess on the door. my car was vandalized time n time again.
one night the kids lobbed a snow ball at the window. and while i was upstairs checking on the kids. he went out after them with a CROSSBOW !!! he collared 1 of the kids. and put the fear of god up him. big mistake. the mother who was a druggie and who hated us. called the police. my ex was arrested, dont care what u say dont use a weapon against an 11 yr old boy. ok the kid was a nasty kid who deserved all he got. but my ex was in the cells for the night. he played the disabled card. and got a 2 yr suspended sentance. he lied in court big time.
it wasnt long after that i left him. he was a coward and a bully.(kids n wonen was his targets)
but dont ever hit a kid outside. no matter what the kid has done. because when u do that. any power u had has gone. ok give them verbal. tell them what ever. just dont lay a finger on them. remember CPS means criminal PROTECTION service.
and hey 1 good thing we can think of. the world is totally screwed up yes?? and we are running out of recorces (sp?) but it will be up to the little chavs of this world to sort it all out, as we will be pushing up daisys by then. makes me feel all warm n cosy inside that lol

Well thanks for that thought, I never looked at it that way but it's true, in the meantime OH & I have taken steps to isolate ourselves from the worst elements of humankind, I guess we are lucky because in winter a week can go by and we don't see anybody a handfull of 'city dwellers' arrive at weekends in Summer and start behaving like they own the place but actually they are not too bad and their kids are lovely.