LET me pitch a scenario.

How would you, as an adult, feel if you were persecuted every time you walked your dog or visited the shops for groceries, or were subjected to mild torture if you decided to walk to the bus stop or go for a jog around your neighbourhood?

All because you, as an innocent citizen, had been deemed guilty and punished by certain members of your own community for the actions of a few others.

his is happening to our children, teenagers and young adults in our local towns and villages currently, and we are allowing it.

It comes in the form of a contraption called the 'Mosquito Alarm'.

It was originally invented to prevent anti-social behaviour in public areas by emitting a sonic sound wave, only audible to those able to pick up high frequencies.

They are now being used in people's front gardens, which may sound like a great way to prevent teenagers lingering outside your house.

However, I can assure you that you are wrong, because it doesn't just target the odd nuisance adolescent, it targets anybody aged 25 or younger.

This includes local children, whom the device has been known to affect to the degree of making them physically sick.

It includes toddlers, who will start crying without their parents knowing why, since they cannot hear the noise themselves.

Imagine it being impossible for a child to play outside in their street due to several neighbours deciding to use these devices; it is an invasion of civil liberties.

The only reason I became aware of this issue was seeing my 19-year-old daughter visibly uncomfortable on multiple occasions whilst walking our dog around North Baddesley, and her informing me that this is a regular occurrence on leaving the house.

In 2008 the Children's Commission called for their ban, claiming the device was aggressive and created no-go areas for innocent children and young adults.

In 2010 an investigation by the council of Europe found the device should be banned because it "violates legislation prohibiting torture".

The inventor himself says it "makes a noise that is impossible to ignore".

I urge both Alan Dowding and our local council to ban these devices as soon as possible.

Just because we, as adults, cannot be affected by them, it does not give us an excuse to ignore them and the torture they put our children through.

Gary Hayes

North Baddesley