“KIDLINGTON is a nice place to live and work and we do not want this spoilt by the actions of a few people...”

So says the neighbourhood police sergeant for the village.

And you might think this would indicate that Thames Valley Police was doing everything it could to embrace this sentiment.

Except, and it’s quite a big ‘Except’... it isn’t.

When one considers that the village of Kidlington sits snugly on the very doorstep of police headquarters, it’s something of an indictment of policing today that the traders there have had to petition the police to tackle a group of youths who are intimidating customers.

And according to the local county councillor, “some elderly people are getting too frightened to go out after 7pm.”

Unacceptable.

And it seems astonishing that local businesses and customers are having to ‘bid’ in order to get action taken.

One is left wondering whether the victims of break-ins, robberies, assaults will have to set up similiar petitions before the police get involved.

Start stockpiling clipboards now...