Opinion : Is it too dangerous to do Christmas shopping in Wycombe?

Thankfully all my Christmas shopping is done.

The presents have been purchased, wrapped and they’re just waiting to be given to my friends.

My Christmas cards were posted several days ago so as to avoid the strike by Post Office workers on the run up to Christmas.

Food and drink, enough to see me over to the New Year, is also safely stored in the pantry at my ancestral home.

Yes, I can safely say there’s no need for me to venture into the town centre for food or drink until January 2017.

In the week leading up to Christmas the shops will no doubt be busy. With Christmas falling on a Sunday this year a lot of workers will most likely take time off on the run up to Christmas meaning that the shops will be packed and queues will form.

However this year doing the Christmas shopping in Wycombe was not as enjoyable as it could have been.

The other day, while walking in Church Street carrying a large item purchased as a present for a friend, my good self was nearly knocked off my feet by a group of youngsters riding bicycles at speed on the pavement.

When I say ‘riding bicycles’ they were mostly travelling along with the front wheel raised high in the air doing what I believe is called a ‘wheelie’.

One of them nearly came a cropper when he lost control and almost got squashed under an oncoming bus making its way from Castle Street to Frogmoor.

It seems it’s not just me who has had an unpleasant experience while Christmas shopping in Wycombe.

A friend was telling me how they were riding on the moving walkway in a large town centre supermarket when a group of youngsters decided they could not wait and tried to push past. The shopping trolley may have been blocking their path but they just lifted it up and bundled it out of the way nearly injuring my friend in the process.

Many times your humble servant has written about the yobbos who run wild in the town centre but sadly nothing seems to be done.

Quite honestly I’m thinking that next year perhaps my Christmas shopping should be done in Marlow? After all it’s safer there to walk about and they don’t have a problem with out of control youngsters on bicycles and the like.

With the experience of myself and my friend I’m left asking myself the question ‘Is it too dangerous to do Christmas shopping in Wycombe?’

The shopkeepers have done well preparing gifts, presents and the like for us to purchase but Wycombe seems to have an underlying problem with youngster on bicycles swanning around with little care of respect for their own safety let alone the safety of others.

The manners of some of the young people hanging around the town centre leaves an awful lot to be desired too. Don’t they have any patience to wait for those in front?

Perhaps it’s time there was a police crackdown on the youngsters running amok in the town centre?

Rather than Father Christmas giving them train sets and bicycles perhaps this Christmas a policeman should give them a criminal record?

What do you think?

Don’t forget my special Christmas Day blog will be published at 3.00pm on Sunday 25th December 2016.

*My blogs are published every Tuesday and Friday evening around 8.00pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.

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