ABSOLUTELY sickened and disgusted that a lad of 14 walloped a 52-year-old women over the head with a nailed piece of wood to rob her.

She was walking to work as a shop assistant in an off-licence when the lad robbed her of the shop keys and her mobile phone.

The poor woman was treated at hospital for four gashes to her head, an open fracture to a finger and two black eyes.

What did this young thug get when he appeared before Blackburn magistrates this week? A 12-month referral order, 36 hours' unpaid work and told to pay his victim £20 when he turns 18 years old.

He is freely walking the streets as if nothing happened.

Back in 1982 the Criminal Justice Act abolished the “Borstal System” and replaced it with Youth Custody Centres instead. In the ’50s I still remember the time when one of the local lads (who was a fearsome out-of-control young thug) was sent to Borstal for a year.

On his return to the local community he told all of lads that he never wanted to go back there again. He was a reformed character.

This is what this country needs again now – a return to the original concept of “Borstal institutions”.

Punishment today is an absolute joke and needs to be seriously looked at. There is no deterrent today in any sentences handed out. Prisons are now all inclusive hotels – drinks, drugs, mobiles, etc, are freely available as well. Computers, TVs, gym sessions, four square meals a day... you name it, they get it. (Hold on a minute I think I’ll hold up a bank and get an all-inclusive holiday as well.)

Paddy Sketcher

Isle of Wight