Juvenile Misbehaviour Mars Whitsuntide

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30445, 20 May 1964, Page 17

Juvenile Misbehaviour Mars Whitsuntide

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, May 19. Battered seaside resorts in South England today counted the cost of a Whitsuntide week-end of youth gang violence that shocked all Britain.

Battles between gangs of “Mods”—teenage dandies—and “Rockers” their leather-jacketed rivals brought havoc to sunny 7 beach areas.

In Brighton 76 adolescents were arrested after a series of clashes. One involved more

than 1000 teen-agers. Five girls were taken to hospital

In Margate, two youths were taken to hospital with knife wounds after skirmishes there.

Fifty-one youths arrested in Sunday’s clashes at Margate were described by a magistrate as “little sawdust Caesars.”

He imposed fines totalling £l9OO, four detention sentences, and imprisoned one youth. Police in Fours In Bournemouth, the police said that by midnight between 40 and 50 arrests had been made. Police, using mobile radios, were patrolling the town streets in fours. Special squads stood by at the seafront in the event of trouble through the night. In Southend, police broke up teen-agers 'fighting and

disarmed them of belts and knuckle-dusters: Courts later today will be dealing with the latest youths arrested and those appearing

oh remand from earlier brawls during the week-end. Road Deaths ■ The rash of fights on the sands came on Britain’s warmest Whit Monday in years. Roads to; coast resorts were jammed with holidaymakers. The week-end road toll vas 67 deaths in the period from Friday to Sunday night, compared with 33 for last year’s week-end. Some reports said the

I four-day figure this year was 82 dead—eight more than ! the record-breaking 1960 toll. > Headlines in British news- ; papers reflected anxiety and

outrage over the clashes and editorials called for action to control hooliganism. Front-page pictures showed the violence—a “mod” kicking the head of a prone “rocker,”. blood streaming from the stabbed back of a young man, leather-jacketed youths leaping over a balustrade to escape deck-chairs hurled by “mods,” a gang beating Up a sole opponent, and police struggling with unruly “wild ones.”