Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, how gracious of you.

People should be able to live in peace and quiet in their homes. So-called antisocial behaviour is often simple thuggery, and it should not be tolerated. The local council should now take the issue of street design in the Hadleigh area seriously. It should protect long-suffering residents and not just brush them aside, as it has for years. We should fight bad behaviour, not excuse it; we should challenge, not hug hoodies. I congratulate each of the excellent residents who signed the petition .

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The Petition of Doug Beard, residents of Shipwrights Drive, Highfield Avenue, Castle Point and others,

Declares that they object to the link footpath between Shipwrights Drive and Highfield Avenue, Hadleigh; that this footpath is a focus for vandalism to adjacent residents' properties and close residents, resulting in hundreds of pounds of damage to roof tiles, walls, security lights, and regular attendance of police officers; further, that this footpath does not provide sufficiently significant convenient access for local residents to outweigh the considerable loss of quality of life caused 24/7 to residents; that for these and many other valid reasons residents of Shipwrights Drive and Highfield Avenue, Hadleigh call for the complete closure of the link footpath since this is, on balance, in the public interest.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to press Castle Point Borough Council, the Highways Authority and all Councillors, to ensure the immediate closure of the link footpath between Shipwrights Drive and Highfield Avenue, Hadleigh.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.]

[P000767]