Backlash Over Bullied Families Deaths

[AsylumVoid]

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/article.as...ntid=149964402

Police and council officials have faced a barrage of criticism after failing to act against a gang who drove a mother to kill herself and her disabled daughter.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said there can be "no excuses" for the case of Fiona Pilkington and her 18-year-old daughter, Francecca Hardwick, saying: "It shouldn't have happened."
Leicestershire Police and two councils were criticised at Monday's inquest ruling which came ahead of a new crackdown on problem families who terrorise their neighbours to be unveiled by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Ms Pilkington, 38, killed herself and her daughter, who had a mental age of four, by setting light to her Austin Maestro while they both sat inside at a lay-by near her home in Barwell, Leicestershire.
Together with the single mother's severely dyslexic son Anthony, they suffered more than 10 years of abuse from a gang of teenagers living in their street.
Inquest jurors found the police's failure to respond to dozens of the family's pleas for help contributed to the deaths in October 2007. They also criticised a failure by police and Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council to share information, which they said was one of the main reasons so little was done, and Leicestershire County Council for failing to properly help the family.
Mr Johnson told GMTV: "We need to work closely together to ensure the tragedy of Fiona Pilkington doesn't happen again." Earlier, he said the Pilkington family "suffered intimidation at the hands of a local gang, culminating in a sustained level of abuse that no family should have to tolerate".
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said the law seemed to allow troublemakers to "get away with it".
In a press conference at Loughborough Town Hall after Monday's inquest verdict, Temporary Chief Constable of Leicestershire Chris Eyre offered his "unreserved apologies" to Ms Pilkington's family.
He said: "We are extremely sorry that at times our actions failed to meet the family's needs and in retrospect there are things we would have done differently. I would like to offer my unreserved apologies to the family, community and wider public."

I saw this story on television this morning, it's so tragic that incidents like this have to happen before the government wakes up.

[Still Jack]

Quite frankly if someone tried that to my family, I'd do my utmost to make their life very very unpleasant.

[AsylumVoid]

Originally Posted by Still Jack

Quite frankly if someone tried that to my family, I'd do my utmost to make their life very very unpleasant.

I had something similiar happen to me. I have a disabled mother and when I was 12, my brother was 11 and had disruptive 16 year old friends. They would try and break in all the time...I would be there locking doors and windows...sometmes actually fighting these guys to get them out of my house. I'd sit there at night with my mum's walking stick ready to beat the arses of these bastards if they tried to break in. It was hell. I was so depressed because my brother didn't care and I was 12 years old. My mum is vulnerable and she can't protect herself. I got death threats and everything. It was actually the most miserable 2 years of my life.

When you're vulnerable...and people are doing stuff like that it's hell. If we had some one, any one in the house who was older, stronger and more threatening we might have been okay...but not every one has that.

So! it's cool you could do that for your family and that's awesome that thy have you around. We had no one. That's the situation these people were in. Luckily it only lasted 2 years for us...not 10.