little support from the public on the streets of Hamilton yesterday.

Respondents to an informal Royal Gazette street poll overwhelmingly rejected the proposal by Stars for Jesus director Ms Lois Stafford to abolish Hallowe'en as a way of eliminating the vandalism and pranks that traditionally accompany it.

Stars for Jesus is a new programme at the Rehoboth Church of God in Warwick for youngsters aged two to 18.

Ms Stafford, whose nine-year-old daughter was a passenger on a bus which was recently attacked by an egg-throwing vandal, said she was prepared to organise "a petition to get rid of this celebration'' if children and teenagers continued to "misbehave''.

Although the programme director felt her plans to scrap Hallowe'en would be greeted with shows of support, that didn't appear to be the case yesterday as one person after another voted overwhelmingly in favour of saving the holiday.

"A ban is nonsense, because Hallwee'en isn't the problem; it's the vandals that are the problem,'' Mr. Oliver Heyliger, 37, told The Royal Gazette on Par-la-Ville Road.

His answer to combating the pranksters? "A greater Police presence if it's necessary, but perhaps a little bit more control by the parents (of the vandals) may be the answer.'' Mr. Paul Hutton, meanwhile, agreed with Mr. Heyliger's sentiments, calling Hallowe'en "a fine and enjoyable institution'' and labelling the call to ban the holiday rash.

"All people should be allowed to enjoy Hallowe'en -- but not if it interferes with the lives of others,'' the 39-year-old from Paget said.

"I think a ban is probably a knee-jerk reaction. I believe education should be the real key.'' Mr. Richard Moses, 30, felt, like many of the respondents, that "something should be done about the vandalism,'' but he also believed that a banning of the holiday would be going "a little bit too far''.

"I disagree (with a ban),'' 34-year-old Mrs. Dierdre Otway of Southampton concurred. "Hallowe'en is such an event for the kids to enjoy -- going from house to house and getting the things they want.'' Both she and her companion on Church Street, 36-year-old Mrs. Linda Lee Hill of Pembroke, agreed that maybe a pre-determined period for the purpose of trick-or-treating might help curb the pranks.

"Set the time for trick-or-treating between 5 and 9 p.m. only,'' Mrs. Hill said. "What I think a curfew would do is get the vandals off the street. A ban is a bit much. They (youths) don't have anything (in the way of recreation) now.'' One confirmed trick-or-treater this evening, 12-year-old Miss Adrienne Smith of Paget, was particularly scornful of a potential ban -- not to mention those who committed the vandalism.

"I'm going to go around with about five or six friends in Paget, which is where I live,'' she said, adding: "If I saw anyone who was committing vandalism, I would go over to them and tell them it's bad. If they didn't listen, I would probably go and get someone older to tell them.'' Even a man who said he was shot at last Hallowe'en didn't believe yesterday that the holiday should be scrapped.

"I don't agree that it should be banned unilaterally,'' said Mr. Angus Brown, who declined to elaborate on the details of the shooting. "It should be allowed to continue under the supervision of the parents.'' Only one respondent, 65-year old Mr. Reg Donald of Smith's, agreed with Ms Stafford that Hallowe'en should be abolished.

"Yes I do (agree) -- let's ban everything,'' he said. "They banned Guy Fawkes Day, so why shouldn't they ban Hallowe'en?'' Most of the people that responded to the survey, however, were decidedly pro-Hallowe'en, with the feelings of Bermuda's children of particular importance to them.

"You can't ban it -- it's for the kids,'' said Pembroke resident Mr. Dean Young, 26. "And anyway, it's mostly the 16 and 17-year-olds that cause the trouble.''