OK - looking for SENSIBLE suggestions here - please.

I'm a middle aged bloke who jogs.
I ran past a bunch of youths (10 or so 16 year olds) who started swearing at me for no reason in front of younger children.

I told them to stop, but one 'herbert' told me where to go in no uncertain terms and continued his tirade.

Do you
(a) ignore it
(b) kick the s4>@ out of him
(c) get a photo of him, find out where he lives and drop his parents a letter with photos
(d) tell the police and hand over the photos/name/address

I live in a very middle class village/town and this has never happened to me before.
At the time I felt like (b), but I would have probably ended up on a charge.
So I'm in the process of doing (d) and asking the police to confirm what they have done - or giving them the option of me sending the letter after letting them read it.

What the h3ll do you do with youths like that?

Just to reassure people, not all youths are like that

Now I don't condone violence, but, threatening to muller him in front of his mates will sufficiently humiliate to make him shut up.

This may sound weak but i think you may have to go with option (a)

Option (B) as you said probably would have resulted in a charge and if he was in a gang there could have been another Gary Newlove situation God rest his soul..

Option (C) well my bet is the parents would do sod all and probably don't care where he is unless you know different..

Option (D) the fuzz will do very little,but they might check your car is taxed before you drive off..

Its a sad state of affairs when you can't even go out jogging without getting abused...

Unfortunately A is probably the only option.
Go with B and you get arrested or they all turn on you and you take a kicking.
I don't think C or D are really options. Their parents will no doubt defend their kids and make you out to be the guilty party and I can't see the police taking much notice unless a crime has been committed.

You're right.
It's the 1st time in 15 years of jogging.

Not sure really, how exactly do you approach a group of youths?

I don't know much about you, but no offence here, but it's quite unlikely you could take 10 on if they all turned and 'started' so to speak. It's probably best to ignore them, I'm only 17 myself so I know what most youths are like, and they seem to thrive off getting a reaction, I'd say it's best to play your cards safe and ignore but if it continues to happen, phone the police and tell them.

Just ignore them mate

Would [iyou[/i have chanced it with 10 or so other of his chav mates ready to jump in? I say chavs as a sweeping generalisation, but I highly doubt they were on their way home from a cheese and wine evening. As another poster has pointed out, it could potentially have 'Gary Newlove' written all over it.

The sad fact is had it happened to me, the option I probably would have taken would have been to ignore it or ring the police and report a disturbance but only if you were damn sure you weren't going to see these scrotes again. I've unfortunately been witness to an extremely violent attack by a gang of mickeyed up chavs in the past, it's made me very wary of approaching situations like that again.

option E
don't jog in Bewsey and stick to Appleton

Just keep jogging, but laugh at them as you jog past.

Now Im not suggesting you do this, but the police up here (blackpool) are taking a different view of things. I know of a few occasions where mouthy scrote mouths off, gets a crack for his trouble and the police refuse to press charges. SOmething about when confronted by what you deem as intimidating behaviour, you are allowed by law to protect yourself, even if this means punching him. At least thats what I was told by my mate who is a police officer.

Now that is policing i do agree with

I'm not saying I definitely would or wouldn't, it would be highly dependent on my mood at the time. Having limited experience of this, when you face the mouthy one down, they all cower. Now this is going to reek of bravado, but it is not my intention, it all comes down to whether you think you can handle yourself. I guess it comes down to my intolerance of why the decent people in this country should have to tred on eggshells, whilst going about minding their own business.

Conversely, it is sometimes best to walk away.

Never put yourself in a situation that is avoidable

Don't let your Ego get the better of you.

Mate with the training i have im quite confident i could beat the livin s--- out of quite a lot of people but

the golden rule is avoid confrontation at all costs

In reverse order:-

Option D - Around here would be a waste of time - I suspect after I hung up there would be a good giggle down the station.

Option C - Around here would be a waste of time - 'Dad' would be round my place before I got home. If I was really unlucky they wouldn't know who their Dad was, and Mum would be a lot worse.

Option B - If I was lucky I would get done by the police, unlucky I would get done by the scrotes.

Unfortunately this leaves Option A.

Having said that...

I am a really really mild mannered guy. Very quiet and unassuming and always try to avoid any confrontation. BUT, there is a gang of 13-16 year old scrotes round us who love to play football in the middle of the crossroads at the top of our road right outside the post office. Whenever I come past in the car I have to wait until they decide that they are willing to move out of the way.

The other day I was in the post office, and these scrotes were playing football right outside. The door was open and just as I finished and picked up my change the ball smacked into the glass in front of me then smacked me in the face. I saw my backside and without thinking I marched out of the post office all guns blazing. F'ing this and F'ing that, "You're all stupid F'ing ***** and ****holes". They visibley shrank in front of me and by the time I demanded an apology they all looked about 7 and very meekly said "Sorry".

I wouldn't say I have been living in fear since, but I expect to see the car has been keyed (or worse) each time I step out of the door, and then expect to turn and see graffiti all over the front of the house. Good as it felt to let fly I can honestly say I wish I had chosen option A and kept my mouth shut!

'All it takes for evil to prosper, is for good men to do nothing'

Over the top? Who knows?

The future of the human race round our way are trying to revive the Grasmere reputation.
On Paddy's Night, for a 'close to home' example, there was a pack of about five or six of them on a small patch of grass, throwing 'mudbombs' (from pipes they'd tore from the outside of people's kitchens), which caused an absoloutely disgusting mess of the local houses and paths, and making a general nuisance, banging and shouting at quite an incosiderate time. Anyhow, our neighbour rang me to tell me they had taken our bin outside (Why? I thought), and I actually fancied walking upto the Co-op for a few tins of Guinness, so I went out, only to be greeted with "Alright, Ash?" One of the little chavs knew me! AND had the audacity to say hello, despite plastering the path outside our gate and our neighbours houses with mud (for some reason, they didn't aim/hit our house).
I growled "Who took me bin out?" to which the lad who 'knew' me gave me a girly "him" and pointed at his mate.
"Well... Don't" I said and walked off, fully expecting at least a window to have been put through when I came back. None were, and those particular lads haven't been around since. Though, I wouldn't advice such a tactic unless you know one of the kids. Suppose I was lucky that time.

Today, our kid - five, she is - went to the local park with her bigger and older friend, only to come back ten minutes later, telling me that there was a gang of older girls who'd pushed them off the swings, swore at them and were giving it the 'big I am'. I sent them back to the park, following about 10 yards behind. The girls in question saw me with our kid and promptly did one - as clear a sign as a guilty conscience as I know. Now, I can't let her go to her favourite little park with her friend. How pathetic can it get?

i got a wii fit and you can jog on the spot in the comfort of your own home without having to see the bad things outside your door.

A couple of years ago my son was beat up walking home by a group of boys (chavs for want of a better word), because he dressed differently..A neighbour who was walking her dog rang me, fortunatley he only suffered a bloody nose, however I saw the blood, marched over to the chavs, used colourfull language which I knew they would understand, told them if they thought they were hard to have a go, on reflection I must have looked a right psycho.They never said a word just hung their heads

I am 5 4 (size 10) female

Just take a mad female on your run

Definately option A.

Frankly i wouyldn't even look at the "chavs" shouting abuse at you, i'd just carry on walking.

Invariably they only ever start when there is a group of them and never when they are alone so best to just ignore it.

In all situations they are just looking for a reaction, don't give them one and just keep going. Any time any abuse has been shouted at me i've just walked on and/or laughed at them. When they don't get a reaction they usually move on.

B.

You don't get this sort of behavior round Latchford

Yes you do. I gave my Chav Neighbour a right good Hiding. For setting our ajoined fence on Fire. On november 5th

A group of about 12 drunken 15-16 yr olds were outside Asda Westbrook last year and they were giving serious grief to everyone walking past. I went over to who was obviously the ringleader and asked him to come for a little walk with me (of course all of them followed behind) and I said quietly to him that if they didn't clear off that one day I would see him out and about on his own and I would put him in the hospital. It had the desired effect and he turned around and took his group off with him.

I thought about it afterwards and realised that it was an [iextremely[/i dumb thing to do but unfortunately it is the only thing that some people seem to understand! They don't even respect the Police as they know they are relatively powerless in such situations.

Society is crumbling!