Vandals deserve to get injured (From The Bolton News)

Vandals deserve to get injured

THE lunatics have finally taken over the asylum when churches have to take steps to ensure that vandals don't hurt themselves.

At St John the Evangelist in Farnworth, church organisers are having to lay gravestones down flat in case vandals attacking the memorials are injured.

Aaah, bless! We don't want the little darlings breaking a fingernail, now do we?

While the action by vicar the Rev Cherry Vann and other church members is entirely understandable, what a pity it is that we live in a society when we even have to be concerned with the health of yobs because they might successfully sue for a large amount.

I can't be the only person who believes that if criminals hurt themselves in pursuit of their crime, then that's divine intervention.

It's just the same argument when people use the effects of alcohol or drugs as mitigation for committing a crime - driving too fast, violent attacks or muggings, for example.

But why is this an acceptable excuse? No-one poured the alcohol down their throats against their will, or forced tablets or drugs on them.

These were influences voluntarily taken, and presumably enjoyed. Surely they should then accept the consequences of their own resulting actions?

Presumably, in this day and age when someone else is always to blame, never the individual, it makes some sort of sense to be able to side-step responsibility for your actions.

Now, as the Farnworth church has found, we are forced to not only make allowances for the criminals but to actually ensure that they have a safe and trouble-free time vandalising.

Personally, if there wasn't a strong danger of litigation, I'd leave the stones a bit wobbly and let nature take its course when criminals come calling.