Sometimes you come across a story that brings a smile to your face and yesterday I was pointed to one that produced a full scale grin.

Howard Stapleton, a 39 year old security consultant has a solution against the loitering groups of incoherent and often drunk teenagers that gather on street corners and outside shops. His device, called the Mosquito, emits a high-frequency pulsing sound that, he says, can be heard by most people younger than 20 and almost no one older than 30. The sound is designed to so irritate young people that after several minutes, they cannot stand it and go away.

Isn’t that just wonderful? It is currently being road-tested by a Spar down in Barry, South Wales and the owners of the shop appear to be over the moon with the success of the project to date.

I particularly liked two other solutions which are, apparently, commonly tried. Some shops use “zit lamps,” which drive teenagers away by casting a blue light onto their spotty skin, accentuating any whiteheads and other blemishes and another method is to pipe classical music out onto the pavement!

You can read all about Mr Stapleton and his Mosquito at The New York Times and if you faintly hear a pulsing, buzzing noise outside your local corner shop and the young shop lifters inside all have fingers stuck in their ears – then now you know why.