Whilst there will obviously be some scroungers in this area there will be many who arn't. I applaud Laura Critcley for trying yours is not an easy path but keep your education up however hard it becomes it may give you a ticket out evetually. Twenty or so years ago Falling flats was a much sort after area and you couldn't get a flat there for love nor money. What went wrong? The mills and the factories closed down which left people from areas such as this out of work. Economicly these areas did not recover. There was little opportunity to retrain and now it is an area that is in a rut. More effort needs to come from the powers that be to make sure that the future generation does not end up the same way. Investment in training and education needs to be encouraged. Give them a goal and the results may surprise those that want to dub the area Scrounger Capital. At least now the true facts are out of the bag something positive may come out for these areas for the future.

   And, I said not to tar everyone with the same brush.

I'm aware some people abuse the system.

I haven't defended every person on benefits; all I was saying was that not everybody abuses the system and those that aren't abusing the system aren't getting enough money to get by on.

   I can't get a job that can cover living costs and future rent costs that is only part-time. I'd have to work part-time because of college and minimum wage for an 18 year old isn't enough to live on, pay rent, pay travel and pay for equipment for my education.

   Last week we found out that a high proportion of people in Central and Falinge were on benefits. They were labelled scroungers. Now we find out that senior Rochdale Council officers are paid more than the Prime Minister.

Unbelievable!

The sorry state of Rochdale shows that these overpaid senior officers have been an abject failure.

When faced with facts about Rochdale all the Chief Executive Roger Ellis could harp on about was “regeneration”. What planet is he on? Simple common sense has gone out of the window. All they seem to be interested in are jobs for the boys and getting their snouts in the trough.

I have no time for scroungers- be they work shy soap dodgers or fat cat Rochdale Council executives.

   I have read all of Laura Critchley's comments and can't help wondering why she doesn't stop whinging and use her energies and typing skills to get a job that pays her some money to get on with her education ans career.

She is deluded when defending many scroungers if she thinks that these poor souls only get £45 a week. Thiat is the tip of the iceberg. The real benefits they milk include the many things us ordinary taxpayers have to cough up for. Council tax, prescriptions, public transport, housing costs.

Certain visitors to this country get free housing, free public travel and grants to fit out their new homes.

Many alcoholics (normally home grown) can even get a weekly allowance for alcohol.

The joke is on us.

   Once again we see MP's judging benefit claimants, yet are not prepared to be open and honest about there own perks and second homes( Some people don't have one, others are struggling to pay their Mortgage) So what do MP's do, spend £100,000+ on legal fees to hide it from the public. It is no wonder people do not want to vote. That is why places like falinge exist.MP's need to stop complaining that they are underpayed.

   "If the Sun newspaper told me that Christmas day falled on the 25th December i would check my calender.

You disappoint me Charled De Mar, you come across as an intelligent guy then ruin it by stating you read the Sun. Roch Girl 23/03/2008 at 22:12"

I hate to mention it, but the use of the word 'falled' seems to qualify some of my opinions.

The whole issue is that the Government and the local Council are rewarding bone idleness and abandon those of us with an ounce of drive and determination to make their own way in life, including the young lady who is clearly making the best of a bad hand by getting to college.

Those afflicted by Jeremy-Kyle-itis should be frog marched to the Job Centre and given one of the hundreds of jobs available whether they like it or not.

I can see Yorkshire Street now, devoid of scrotes, now all in work with more money to spend in JJB and Elizabeth Duke...

   I am a 40 year old woman who left Rochdale 20 years ago to live in Canada. I have been back once or twice but thats about it. So who am I to comment on the "Scrounge capital of the UK'? Probably no one, but I felt the need to comment anyway.

Things really haven't changed that much over 20 year,only the faces doing the scrounging. It's learned, it's cultural and its probably the children of those parents that were scrounging 20 years ago that are doing the same thing now that their parents did then. The babies in the buggies outside the social with their single teen mums, will be the children outside the social in 20 years time,doing the same thing. So it goes, on and on.

It seems that local councils and Governments are so politically correct in trying to please everyone all of the time. The very fabric that is the community's future, the youth, are being tip toed around. A hard stance needs to be taken, criterias need to be met for the so called scroungers to be able to get all of their freebies.

Re-education might not be a bad thing, it seems that ignorance, a lack of knowledge and the fact that these so called scroungers really don't know any better because this is really all they know, needs to be changed. No hope of ever getting out and seeing the big wide world because they have probably been told they never would, that they're stupid and thick oh yes and scroungers. So why not be what society knows them to be anyway.

Half of them can hardly string 2 words together, is this their fault or an educational system and social network that as failed them? They can probably barely read and write, (just enought to fill out the appropriate benefits paperwork). So we the comment makers can be safe in the knowledge they're not reading our comments? Too bad really it might make them do something about their situation out of sheer embarrassment.

Its a cycle that needs to be broken I hope for Rochdales youth and its future it will be.

I want to applaud the young Rochdale girl for trying to get her education, sofa surfing and trying to manage off a meager amount with virtually no support.

My heart goes out to you, because you are legitimate in your attempts to make a better life for yourself. You will succeed, and the one person you will be able to thank at the end of it all is yourself and maybe some of those extra special people that will have tried to help you along the way.

Keep your chin up and keep doing what you are doing your hard work will pay off in the end.

However, understand that while there are people like yourself genuinely trying to make a better life for themselves, there will always be underclass scroungers in one form or another no matter what. It is the cycle of life and who we are as humans. It is not someone like you that peoples comments are directed at. It is to those scroungers on the video that where pissed off because they weren't going to get their money because of the strike and now God forbid just might have to go out and rob someone, so that they can buy a new shell suite and a big mac. So understand, that the comment makers frustrations aren't directed at you personally but they do have a right to vent. When they, like you, are working hard and trying their best only to have the threat of it being taken away from someone who they are already subsidizing through their taxes, now telling them they'll have to rob them too!!!

It makes me sad, I remember back in the 80's when Rochdale had one of the worst unemployment rates in the country we managed to make it onto the telly with that one. The NF was rampant, we made it onto the telly and papers with that one as well. Is there no hope? Good luck Rochdalians, you need it!!!

   If the Sun newspaper told me that Christmas day falled on the 25th December i would check my calender.

You disappoint me Charled De Mar, you come across as an intelligent guy then ruin it by stating you read the Sun.

   It does not surprise me that Rochdales residents have been described as scroungers, this however is not the fault of the people of Rochdale but the fault of the people who make it difficult for these people to get an education by shutting down college nurseries like they are doing at Hopwood Hall Middleton, that provide the adult access course which allows people who are on benefits to gain qualifications to sucssfully seek employment. This also affects A-level students who have children as they too will have no nursery facility on campus.

   the sun reports 820 out of 1,074 people of working age claiming benefits just on the failinge estate,the job centre last week had 425 jobs on offer in rochdale just last week. carpet right had a job for an assistant manager on £16,000 a year starting and thats with in store training. Also the local jobcentre had 1,630 jobs on offer from non skilled to a £30,000 managers job surely were not saying your all youll get that job but 1,630 jobs you cant all say oh i dont qualify for that job im not having it that every 1 in rochdale is that thick as a brick. Now if it was me id have you working for your benefits and others are right yorkshire st full of young mums,no prospect smoking, eating mcdonaldssports wear not cheap either,gold the total chav look,dont be giving it to me i wont wear it. I see it when walking with my daughter and g/f at weekends and when im not working shifts. And dont get me on pot smoking groups hanging around yorkshire st,not even the frigging army would take those knuckle dragging apes in and kick some life into them. Glad were moving for our daughters education and lifestyle back down where i served in the marines in poole. Where its nice and no chavs.

   It was in the sun news paper today that there was loads of jobs,so why is 4 in 5 not working???. Ive just got my g/f a real good job,its looking and knocking on doors if you dont then dont expect a decent life living in a hole like rochdale. Me the g/f and daughter are off,had enough and it will only get worse.

   "As for there being no decent jobs - there are if you are prepared to go to them rather than wait around at home for Alan Sugar to knock on your door and say You're Hired!"

Don't you normally require an education to go find a decent job? And, doesn't having an education cost money? (travel costs, equipment) And, if young people are emancipated from their parents and rely on themselves... don't they require just a little money to get themselves that education?

   "Sadly, it's all too easy for people to blame others for their shortcomings and expect to be guided and carried through life with little motivation for doing it themselves.

I'd rather earn minimum wage than expect handouts and spend my day in front of the telly or hang around Yorkshire Street all day."

I'd rather be in education than spend my day in front of the telly or hang around Yorkshire Street.

It seems to me that all your opinions revolve around working minimum wage and living in rented accommodation. Look, I'll put this simply... there's very little rented accommodation left; I'm 18 and high priority for housing... but it's still a six month waiting list.

Once you get inside this housing, even if you are earning... most likely minimum wage... you're still not going to be able to afford the rent and Housing BENEFITS will have to pay a majority of your rent.

Or you can get off your high horses and accept that not everybody that is in receipt of benefits is the same.

I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't go to McDonald's or Subway. I have 2 pairs of pants, 3 tops, no coat and 1 set of underwear.

The measly £45 I get goes on food. paying some form of rent to the people whose sofas I stay on... and bus fare to get to and from college; and considering as I don't always know where I'm staying the night before college... well, I end up buying more than one bus ticket.

And, yes, I do find it easy to blame others for my situation. Because it's not my choice to be that tiny step above living on the streets.

Sometimes people have to leave the place they considered home for all their life because it isn't a safe environment... it's abusive. And to some people, the prospect of living on the streets is safer than being at home.

Then, the Government are nice enough to say we'll stick you on a minimum 6 month long waiting list and give you a measly £45 a week to live off of.

I challenge you, live off of £45 a week. £45 to pay utility bills, food bills, travel costs and supplies for education.

It isn't enough. So many people spend £45 on nice, new clothes... or computer software... or on an evening out... or XBox360 games... a new, cheap, mobile phone... there's so much stuff that people throw £45 away on and I'm trying to live off of that each week.

I have lots of motivation for carrying and guiding my way through life; but, obviously, according to all you high and mighty people... this means that me having an education doesn't count. You want me to work minimum wage in a dead end job that doesn't cover rent so I still end up on Housing BENEFITS and Council Tax BENEFITS.

So just consider it from my position, just for a moment, then back the hell off because not everybody on benefits is the same and some people genuinely need the money to be able to imitate some semblance of existence.

   As you can imagine these revelations caused much discussion amoungst my friends. However one aspect of getting employment totally missed is that when you reach our age you become less attractive to employers because:

1. Agesism you are considered too old.

2. As you have accumilated lots of experience you are considered a threat to the interverer often knowing more than them.

Think about it ? ?