M not a resident of Mount Croix, but as someone who has had to deal with noisy student neighbours partying well into the night and small annoying dogs yapping in the early hours to disturb what little sleep I may have got that night I have followed the debate surrounding Castros with interest.

My interest turned into revulsion on Wednesday night when I dropped a colleague in Eastbourne Road on Wednesday night after a staff party. As the designated driver I was within my legal alcohol limits, but none of our party had gone overboard.

Not so the party animals at Castros. It was only 10.30pm but drunken teens who did not look old enough to be in a bar were spilling out into the streets, bottles in hand, ranting, raving and cursing very loudly.

Juveniles who can only just have got their licences, if they have one at all, but who were obviously driving under the influence pulled up in overloaded vehicles, revving their engines and discarding an illegal amount of passengers out of the vehicle to join the party throng. There was absolutely no attempt to contain the party animals, and all the doors and windows of the club were wide open. Add to that the thump thump of music and the result was that I could hardly make myself heard as I bade farewell to the colleague forced to live among this disgraceful melee.

Live and let live, sure, but not only is this a residential area, there is also a hospital in the vicinity – in fact there are “hospital – silence” signs right there in Eastbourne Road. There is blatant disrespect for patients and residents’ rights (imagine a party scene like this in residential Summerstrand – there would be an outcry and it would be shut down) but there is also a disrespect for the law. If the traffic department wants to make a quick buck to add to their Christmas bonus I suggest they camp out at Castros for a night or two. From what I saw in just one night – and I am assured this goes on most nights of the week – they could make enough in ticket money from fining drunk drivers to fund a getaway for the whole department in Mauritius.

Surely with 2010 around the corner it is time to clean up our act and not encourage hooliganism like this. If England’s soccer fans behave badly, as we all know they can, we cannot do anything to them when we cannot control worse behaviour in the midst of a so-called quiet residential neighbourhood.

Oh and don’t let me cast the only stone at Castro’s. Jesters around the corner was just as bad. Surburban bliss? I don’t think so, this is just the start of festive season suburban hell. If it is to be the season of peace and goodwill the powers that be need to clamp down on club owners who somehow seem to be above the law and make them, and their customers, toe the line. – SUSAN WILLIAMS, PE