BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- A highly placed police officer in Britain on Wednesday advocated urgent action to hold back a rising tide of youth violance after a 47-year-old father of three was kicked to death by a gang of young drunks.

    The man, a company director from Warrington in northwest England, had quarreled with the group when he saw them damaging a vehicle and other property outside his home.

    It was the latest in a series of violent, and frequently deadly, attacks by abusive, young hoodlum drunks in Britain remindful of the 1971 futuristic film "A Clockwork Orange," directed by Stanley Kubrick.

    "We cannot have a society where adults feel scared to go out and challenge youngsters up to no good," said Peter Fahy, the chief constable of Cheshire, the county which includes Warrington. "Every night of the week Cheshire officers are engaged in a constant battle against anti-social behavior and alcohol-induced violence ... it breeds fear and isolation."

    While the phenomenon of unruly — some say feral — youth is hardly new in Britain, there are concerns the social breakdown is intensifying, as those involved get younger and the violence appears to worsen.

    Fahy's comments found wide support on radio call-in shows and news programs on Wednesday, but the government did not immediately respond to his suggestion that the drinking age be raised from 18 to 21.

    The Sun newspaper, the country's most-widely read, ran an editorial saying it was time for parents to take responsibility.

    "Should parents be arrested if they let their kids run wild? Should benefits be reduced or even stopped for those who won't work?" the paper asked. "It is another signal that the‘Great’is
going out of Great Britain."

    Sociologists say British youth do not spend enough time with adults, spending free time with friends unsupervised. In Europe, young people spend much more time under supervision.

    "Our young people drink more and take more drugs than others partly because they can," said Julia Margo, a researcher at the IPPR think tank.

    (Agencies)