I WAS amused when I saw the article in last week s Crow (October 26) detailing the police s egg and flour ban in the weeks leading up to Halloween, as it reminded me of a egg related incident I fell victim to last October. Last year was my final year of

I WAS amused when I saw the article in last week's Crow (October 26) detailing the police's egg and flour ban in the weeks leading up to Halloween, as it reminded me of a egg related incident I fell victim to last October.

Last year was my final year of GCSE's and, as I began this year of schooling, a fresh wave of course work hit all the students of my year.

I, like many others, straining under this heavy load of school and homework found myself continually leaving things to the last minute.

It was consequently so that I found myself one morning racing to find all the necessary materials for a food technology practical I had later that day, the results of which would become part of my course work and eventually my final grade.

I decided the simplest and quickest thing to do would be to buy the necessary materials on the way to school.

You can understand my amazement and dismay when, trying to buy all I needed to make a chocolate cake, I was refused service.

The reason I was given was that, in the weeks leading up to Halloween, eggs and flour were not to be sold to anyone under the age of 18.

Needless to say this did not wash at all well with my teacher.

I was even more surprised to hear after Halloween that all the usual suspects in my year had been out that night and had spent most of their evening pelting cars and houses with eggs.

It feels silly to point out, but the police must have overlooked the fact that most children, even if they are unable to buy them, will be able to find a box of eggs in their fridge at home.

Banning simple things such as eggs and flour can, in my opinion, only be a slight annoyance to trouble-makers.

If they can't get eggs what will they do, go home and do school work? I don't think so. I predict more broken windows this year as children turn to stones or pebbles looking for new ways to make trouble.

The police can ban as much as they like, but I cannot see anything making an impact short of tying all the children up.

The only answer can be educating children that what they are doing is wrong. That and showing parents how they can better control what their sons and daughters get up to this Halloween.

That's how we can "ensure Halloween is safe and trouble free for everyone".

CHRIS BRUNTON

Bassingbourn