AS a passenger in a car in fastmoving traffic approaching the Crompton Way junction near the Castle pub at 3.45pm on Sunday, October 31, I was saddened to observe a vicious street fight by young teen boys.

A side road leading off Tonge Moor Road to the left was entirely blocked by about eight or 10 boys sitting in a semi-circle across the entire roadway looking towards me.

The two fighters were close to the joining point with Tonge Moor Road and I would like to highlight the attacking fat boy of about 12 years old, who, I would assume, was the street gang leader, demonstrating his “authority” in front of his followers.

What was immediately observable was that the fat boy was bigger than his opponent, but still needed to fight dirty.

He had used his fat left arm to haul the rainproof top of his smaller opponent up so that the hood shrouded the other lad’s head so that he was unable to see to fend off the brutal punches that fat boy was rapidly raining into the his face.

As my driver could not pull over in fast traffic and without a mobile phone, I had to decide some 15 minutes later whether to report the assault from home.

I reflected on previous contacts with the GMP non-emergency contact line and, despite personal and property at risk, not one resulted in the attendance of a police patrol (they never have any resources), so I did not ring at the time.

However, I do have a message for the local fat boy wearing a short sleeve, mid-green T shirt with light pattern across the front and sandy trimmed hair — you my, friend, are a gutless coward.

Cut you open and apart from all of the excess blubber that would fall out, would be a spine as yellow as an egg yoke.

You couldn’t even fight fairly, but had to blind your opponent to hedge your bets.

If anyone knows who this early teen gang leader is, I suggest you make sure your children are kept well away from him.

These street youths were babies when Tony Blair came to power and he insisted on taxing the middle earners to death to fund all of this education investment, along with public services like local policing. From what I saw, it was all a waste of money.

Name and address supplied