‘Don’t do damage’ lesson for Whalley pupils

10:59am Friday 11th July 2008

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POLICE delivered a ‘Don’t do damage’ message to primary school children.

It comes after police and community leaders were left ‘disgusted and appalled’ by the desecration of Ribble Valley Remembrance Park, Mitton Road, just outside the centre of Whalley.

PC Justin Brown took a lesson at Whalley C of E Primary School on the Crim-inal Damage Act, focusing on graffiti and vandalism which he said were the offences young children were most likely to be involved in.

He said: “I spoke to them about the age of criminal responsibility, which stands at 10 years old, and about the recklessness aspect of the Criminal Damage Act, which includes things like throwing snowballs at a bus.

“A lot of the children were quite shocked that they could get in trouble with the police as well as in trouble with their parents.”

After the lesson the 40 children, aged 10 and 11, went into small groups and produced posters.

Then at a school assembly the children spoke to younger pupils about criminal damage.

PC Brown said: “If I get one person who doesn’t commit an offence for the rest of their lives then it will be worth it.”

Year 6 teacher Richard Blackburn, said: “There were quite a few raised eyebrows about the reckless aspect of criminal behaviour such as riding bicycles on pavements, which children do as a matter of course.”

PC Brown said the package was a preventative measure and had not come as a result of the damage at the park, which he believed was not committed by children of primary school age.

Yobs trashed two chapels and the cemetery at the park which is the final resting place for more than 995 people, many of whom were former patients of Calderstones hospital.