Sir.-I write regarding the youths issue in the borough.

You are 11 to 14-plus and want to hang out with your mates on Friday nights - sometimes until the wee hours of the next morning. You want to play commandos or such in parks after dark. You want to walk around with your mates, day or night, without being labelled "hooligans".

Well, you can in Scouts!

There are at least a couple of local troops which meet on Friday nights.

Scouts offer the option of either all-male or mixed male and female troops that put on activities where you can have fun with your friends, old and new.

Most groups have information sheets in Basingstoke Library. Check them out.

-Suzanne Fletcher-Mallinson, Scout Leader 11th (all male troop).