Is it just me or has anyone else begun to notice the lack of moral fibre and decency in teenagers these days? Are there any real, human qualities which can turn these creatures into decent human beings?

I catch a daily, early-morning bus to work and have the misfortune of sitting among 50 or so of these examples of the future of this nation. Their lack of manners and respect - their lack of anything from the finer side of human nature - is appalling.

This morning, I witnessed a bunch of these monsters alighting in Patcham, throwing vitriolic abuse at the bus driver and spitting at a young, foreign student passing by on the pavement.

It would appear there are no longer parents capable of instilling a sense of discipline and education in their children. Teenagers today are brought up to focus on the banal ruts of evening TV soaps and to emulate the yob behaviour of footballing oiks.

What these youngsters need is a good, hard thrashing to teach them the error of what they are doing and this should happen at an age when it can be effective. Even a good, hard verbal thrashing can do the world of good.

How absurd schools are no longer allowed to cane or slap pupils. No wonder these brats degenerate. Do parents really care, or know how to instil discipline? Discipline is an art which has been lost. And by this, I also mean the discipline of refining the mind through decent pursuits and education.

-Anthony Arundell, Hove