I WAS in Worthington Park in Sale recently, along with my wife and 11-year old-son, and I was subjected to a torrent of expletives from a boy in a group.

His combination of vile invectives and provocative body language was designed, entirely, to intimidate and threaten.

The prompt for this vile onslaught was simply my suggesting to a girl from the group, who had entered the park screaming expletives, that she might want to curb her language given that there was a young child within earshot.

Sale is blessed with a number of parks, all of which are well used by a broad spectrum of the community.

It is entirely unacceptable, therefore, that these spaces could become off-limits because of the behaviour of a relatively small group of teenagers.

Once home, I reported my experience to the police; I suggest others do too.

Finally, if you are the parent of a teenager who is allowed to roam the streets in the area around the park, ask yourself whether: a) you know where, exactly, your child is, and b) do you know what they are doing? If the answer is 'no' then you are quite possibly part of the problem.

Name and address supplied