Letter to the editor: We have lived in Lewisham since the 1960s and I can tell you it all went wrong in the 1970s. All of a sudden, street robbery became commonplace, with elderly women and youngsters the main targets.

I would come across victims even in daylight hours. I received a minor neck wound in December 1981, when I refused to hand over cash to three men who held me at knifepoint. Since then, I have tried to help and have done so on many occasions, including stopping assaults, robberies, arguments and even a sexual assault. I have witnessed abusive, aggressive behaviour, shop theft, drug-taking and dealing almost daily but only get involved if people are being threatened. On the morning of May 2, I walked past a man smoking drugs in Lewisham High Street. In the afternoon, I saw four men in a car throwing things at other vehicles.

In Ladywell Park there was another man smoking drugs as I played football with my nephew.

Then, late in the evening, there was the arrest of at least three men opposite my home.

I only call the police when it is serious or I cannot handle the situation.

Recently, a neighbour called the police as he watched a car being broken into. They never came.

Another crime which tragically did not happen.

There is much more I could tell you about, it is worse than the statistics suggest.

MR O TAVARES, Lewisham