the 15-year-old boy who threw an apple at him as he rode his moped.

The 70-year-old former Mayor of Yonkers in New York said the authorities had to get tough on young criminals to stop them progressing to more serious offences.

It is Mr. Freddolino's 22nd visit to Bermuda and he said he would not let this incident put him off returning.

However, the father-of-five said that unless young people were punished severely for anti-social behaviour, they would continue to do it, causing the Island and tourism to suffer.

Mr. Freddolino was on his usual late summer holiday to Bermuda last September when he was hit by an apple as he rode a moped along South Road in Warwick.

Last Thursday Family Court Magistrate Carlisle Greaves sentenced the teenage schoolboy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to one month's community service.

But the court heard that he already had previous convictions and was currently committed to an approved society.

The tourist said: "They gave this kid 30 days community service, but he had a rap sheet two-and-a-half pages long.

"I could have lost control of the bike and gone under a bus or a truck and I would not be talking to you today. I would be dead.

"The problem today is that people just do not respect other people's rights.

Giving this kid community service, a soft sentence, will mean nothing to him.

"I say they should have either put him in a bright red suit and made him sweep the streets, especially around the area where the horses stand in Front Street, or put him in the stocks in St. George's and took a picture of him for the newspapers and television. He would be so embarrassed, he wouldn't do it again.'' Mr. Freddolino said he would not let this incident put him off coming back to Bermuda again.

However, he said the authorities here had to make sure offences like this were punished hard so other tourists and residents did not fall victim.

He added: "This is the most fantastic Island in the world. I will still come back here, but I'm very disappointed he only got a few hours community service, when he could have killed me.''