i used to live on a first floor flat , i had my bike chained to the balcony, and one night heard some noise, stuck my head out the door and someone was trying to pinch it.
they saw me and came at me so i lumped em one and they legged it.
month later an almost identical thing happened to this, and its only that i was up cos my oldest (only one at the time) had been up with chicken pox that i heard the letterbox go at 1 in the morning and put the fire out before it got started.
two weeks after that i was walking the dog and a car pulled up, the same guy got out and i got a knife in the stomach.
between my wife and i we knew most kids in the area, as we both did youth work at the time, and he weren't local, so probably didn't know bout our kid, but he was still preparred to set fire to the only way out of our flat cos i'd stopped him nicking a £200 bike.
the shock at the time, and the fact it was only a bit of carpet that got damaged meant i didn't hit home too much, but seeing this stirs up feelings of hatred that makes me sick at todays supposed legal system.
how can anyone argue they have human rights after they denied that girl the right to live is beyond me.
(as a side note we moved shortly after and have had no problems since, however the registration number of the car and some family in places to make use of that meant i got the opportunity the parents of this case should be given.)