Idle hacks combine to slag Boston off for cheap headline

Here's how a town's reputation can be rubbished within 24 hours, due to a combination of a long bank holiday weekend and lazy journalsim.
This week's story about a the police getting tough in Boston, appeared on the Target's website early on Good Friday under the heading "Crackdown launched to tackle town centre problems."
Must be at least a week since the last one, we thought, as we went on to read that "police are sending out a warning to youngsters congregating in Boston town centre amid an increase in complaints about anti-social behaviour.
"Strait Bargate is said to be the worst affected area with reports of youths verbally abusing visitors, shoppers and shop staff, kicking footballs around and cycling in the pedestrianised area.
"In a bid to put a stop to these problems police are stepping up patrols in the area and also asking parents and relatives to play their part in the crackdown."
Last night, we took a bedtime look at the BBC's website page for Lincolnshire (it always helps us to nod off,) and saw the front page above - as will anyone else taking a look at what's happening in Lincolnshire.
Needless to say the lead story is about Boston.
It began:- "Officers are concentrating on the Straitbargate (sic) area of Boston following complaints from residents. There have been reports (ie on the Boston Target webpage) of young people verbally abusing shoppers, cycling and kicking footballs around the pedestrianised area. "
The look at the headlines, you would think that Bosnia, sorry Bostonia, sorry Boston, was in the grip of feral gangs who make the daily life of the townsfolk a living hell.
But no, the town has just been slagged off unfairly once again by a bunch of listless, idle hacks.
We and our colleagues are in and out of town at varying times on different days - and as with many of these so-called crackdown scenarios, find ourselves wondering what on earth is happening ... and more importantly when it is happening.
Strait Bargate at its termination point with W H Smith and the entrance to Pescod Square must now be one of the most heavily "policed" parts of the town.
There are Pescod's own security staff - identified by their fetching black ensemble and a tendency to slouch in doorways like a uniformed version of the people they are trying to deter; and then the Town Rangers - brilliant in blue tops, which we fear have washed none too well in such a short space of time. Then there are the PCSOs, who sometimes like to sample the windbreak attractions of Pescod on breezy days, and now we hear that - fate forfend - even the real police may well be thinking of pitching up.
Ironically, on the very day that the Target piece appeared, we were outside Waterstones and absolutely agog to find the entrance to Pescod Square all but blocked by PCSOs talking to Rangers, talking to Pescod security staff - all the uniformed Easter eggs in the same basket!
A case conference perhaps?
If not, why are these limp symbols of authority always out in force when the trouble they are there to prevent is nowhere to be found....
Oh, and where do these "residents" of "Straitbargate" live?
Can no-one make some effort to spare Boston from unnecessarily bad publicity such as this?
Sadly, we doubt it.

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