AT last a judge who lives in the real world and is willing to name and shame teenagers like those given custodial sentences recently for robbing and bullying an innocent person – Echo headline “Boy gun gang locked up”.

This was a premeditated robbery by five young people who knew what they were doing – though I am sure dogooders will tell us they were too young to realise the implications of their deed.

This poses a question as to how one of them managed to get hold of a gun which, if kept in the home, should have been under lock and key whether it was loaded or not.

I still firmly believe if we had harsher sentences like they have in some parts of America, which certainly act as a deterrent, and where even community service is hard manual work instead of picking up litter for two hours a day we would not have all the vicious crimes which we are now being subjected to.

MRS H LEWIS, Chandler’s Ford.