Once again the 'Letters' page of The Boston Standard is its most interesting and revealing section. The points of view of the 'great unwashed' are often unenlightened and disagreeable though these nuggets of common prose are often the only articles with any hint of passion and desperation. This week, V.Ashton of Gypsey Bridge penned a venomous little note entitled "Obey our laws... or pack your bags", a snipe at perceived foreign criminality. V.Ashton writes:


"Why do we resent so many foreigners in our country? Simple - it's crime. We have imported it by the boat-load"

V.Ashton goes on to say:

"Do you ever watch Crimewatch? Twelve out of 14 rapists were foreigners on a recent programme"

So what is it we are to draw from this? That anyone born in a country other than ours is statistically more likely to rape your daughter? I am sure it is safe to trust the work of an overtly sensationalist television programme. Any programme that features 14 rapes can't in any way be manipulative can it?

The statistics of rape make the situation much more understandable. The majority of rapes are committed by husbands, partners or other persons known to the victim. Only 12% of rapes are committed by 'strangers', as Rape Crisis state:

"In the small minority of 'stranger rape' cases (only 12% of the full sample), where a suspect was identified the case was more likely to proceed to court than in those cases where the complainant and suspect were previously acquainted"

We can assume from this, that the rapes supposedly featured on the programme are ones that the police have considered to be crimes and are interested in pursuing. We must also assume that along with these 'stranger' rapes, thousands of British women have been raped their husbands, friends and partners. V.Ashton tries to paint a picture that the majority of rapes are committed by 'foreigners' but this clearly is not the case. Incidentally, I had a look at the BBC Crimewatch website and the only rapists featured are white British men. Maybe I am wrong, but V.Ashton appears to be spreading the kind of lies often used to inflame tense situations.

V.Ashton ends his/her letter with a relatively agreeable sentiment:

"If immigrants come here, work, pay their taxes and obey the law then fair enough. Anyone who doesn't, get rid"

Most people would say this is indeed 'fair enough', and that 'anyone' who refuses to pay their taxes and disobeys the law should be got 'rid' of. In this sense, we do not need to talk about 'foreigners' but of common criminals and social parasites. V.Ashton obviously reads the local papers, and therefore surely notices that the majority of crimes are committed not by 'foreigners' but by people born a little closer to home. Maybe it is time, that we put our energies into condemning the local people of the Fenside estate that fill the courts and police cells every week. These are the people that make our everyday lives a misery. So with venom similar to that of V.Ashton I suggest:

• We erect iron gates at all entrances and exists.
• Only let the Fensiders out into our community with a correct pass and ID card.
• Surround the entire estate in thick concrete walls and then...
• Bomb the bastards into the stone age.

Alas, I have just been out into Kyme road and see somebody else has already beaten us to it!