sasmasgen

DiD, really sorry this happened to your son and his friends, how absolutely terrifying. A few years ago when I was at uni, I chased down a gang intent on kicking the sh*t out of a young boy and put myself between him & them while he was cowering on the floor. It was probably only because I'm a girl (and was screaming like a crazy person) that they backed off. Afterwards I realised how stupid it could have been, but I'd do it again in the same situation. (That being said, this was Canterbury, not South London, and the boys probably weren't carrying knives.) We really need to look out for each other, and it's incredibly sad that none of the drivers stopped. So no, Penguin, it's nothing new and no one is suggesting it's the area going downhill, but we can all do more. As others have said, DiD, police victim support can be really great (they've helped me and those I know hugely in the past, even for some quite minor things) and self defence or boxing classes are not a bad shout to help them regain some confidence. I hope they recover soon x

There is a live petition that can be signed here: https://www.change.org/p/fight-unfair-dog-restrictions-in-southwark?recruiter=745707919&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition The way in which the council went about the consultation should alarm everyone, not just dog owners. Please sign it so we can have a happy, dog friendly borough (with no one shitting on pavements, ideally).