Letters to the Editor

Such a hole exists outside my house. They dug it, didn't like it, filled it in and recently dug it out again. These holes are, in fact, works of art, designed by Damien Hirst, commissioned by Yorkshire Water, installed by Balfour Beatty and tastefully framed in red and white plastic.

"My" hole is enhanced by a trail of top dressing in orange and white which, mixed as it is with the excavated clay, will turn into an attractive sea of mud when the rains come. I've been ringing Yorkshire Water to express my delight about the hole. They are always polite but ineffective. Balfour Beatty were also polite but do not now return my calls.

I wondered if your art critic would like to review this work. There's no rush; it doesn't seem to be going away.

J Sutcliffe, Carr House Gate, Wyke.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said: "Yorkshire Water is investing millions to improve the supply pipes throughout the Bradford area and work has been ongoing here to lay a brand new water main. This is currently being tested at regular intervals and it has been necessary to leave open the excavation so that we can gain regular access.

"We apologise for any inconvenience while the main is tested. Once this is complete and the connections are made, the excavation should be closed, which will be by the end of next week."

SIR - November 5 approaches again. As usual, the same shops sell the same cheap fireworks to children below the legal age.

As usual this will go on right through until mid-December. As usual, neither the police nor the Council will do a thing about it. "We don't have the manpower," they say. "We cannot really do anything if we catch them."

The solution is to stop selling the fireworks. I am not a killjoy but how much damage has to be done first? How many people have to get hurt before the law is changed?

Selling fireworks should be prohibited other than for the few days immediately before November 5, unless the authorities give special dispensation for other events.

They should be sold only to people over the legal age rather than to anyone with the money who says he won't be throwing them - with a smile on his face and a cocky wink at his friends waiting outside.

Fireworks are dangerous. They maim and even kill. The world is a dangerous enough place now without letting local idiots run round with explosives.

Dave Pask, Cross Street, Buttershaw.

SIR - I see that the police are solving fewer crimes. Well it's blatantly obvious why, but no-one seems to have the courage to stand up and say it.

The police are too busy persecuting and harassing motorists. Why? They provide easy pickings and a good source of revenue and it doesn't require too much brain power.

When someone breaks into your car or your home they don't even attend these days. Why? A shortage of manpower as they are all chasing motorists.

David Holmes, Crestville Terrace, Clayton.

SIR - I am a taxi driver and have noticed police misusing their authority while driving around. They will switch their blue flashers on for a few seconds to cross red lights and then switch them off. They will pass through "No Entry" "Bus and taxi lanes only" even when there is no emergency. They will park on double yellow lines and on taxi ranks in Westgate.

They harass taxi drivers for no reason. If you come out of the Interchange, it's clearly marked: "No left turn except for taxis." Similarly, if you come out from Drake Street (opposite), it's clearly marked: "No right turn except for taxis" but they harass taxi drivers there and try to book them, wasting their time in unnecessary arguments.

Taxi drivers could be of great help in solving crimes if we were looked upon sympathetically, because we are on the road nearly 24 hours a day,

There should be a confidential telephone hotline to report any wrong doings by the police, set up by the Police Complaints Authority.

J K Gupta, Hollybank Road, Bradford 7.

SIR - I would like to send a big "thank you" to the pond life who stole the steering wheel from my mum's car on Sunday night. What exactly do these people gain from such pointless vandalism?

My mum had planned a week's holiday from work to visit friends, go Christmas shopping and see her grandkids. She had to spend two days on the phone with insurance and repair companies, trying in vain to get the courtesy car to which she is supposed to be entitled. Her insurers towed her car to a garage, where she was informed it will probably be written off because it's not worth the expense of repairs. She is extremely upset, stressed and furious.

And what about the police? This matter is obviously too trivial for them to break off the vital work of catching people driving at 34mph on Thornton Road to attend the crime scene. The police think it is enough to simply issue a crime number. It is not!

Caroline Robinson, Egypt Road, Thornton.

SIR - In reply to Mark Squires who wants to expose the racism that exists in the Asian community and put it on the same level as police racism (Letters, October 28), can I point out that there is racism in all cultures up and down the country?

There are Asian racists, as there are black and white, too. But police racism is simply not acceptable as officers are there to serve the whole community and not just the white section.

How can a person from an ethnic minority community have any faith in the legal system after watching the BBC documentary exposing racism among officers at the police training centre?

If it was an Asian police officer who made racist comments I would expect him to be sacked immediately and not just suspended like the officers concerned.

Hamdan Khan, St Michaels Road, Bradford.

SIR - Robert Hughes questions whether prior to her winning the Nobel Peace Prize, I had heard of Shirin Ebadi (Letters, October 23). The short answer is yes, I had, along with multitudes worldwide who are seriously concerned about women's rights.

The grouping will automatically exclude Mr Hughes's mentor, the Pontiff, whose sole contribution to women's "rights" has been to deny them control of their own bodies and their own fertility. A basic freedom for any woman must be that of choice: To conceive or not to conceive; to give birth or not to give birth.

Certainly that choice must not be frustrated by the harsh, theological intervention of a church still mired in medieval beliefs and practices, and a church dominated by celibate old men with no understanding of the daily reality of women's lives.

Peter Wilson, Thornhill Grove, Calverley.

SIR - I have always held head teachers in high regard, but since they have allowed morning assemblies to be devoid of Christian teaching I must say this is a backward step.

I assume it is because of the influx of other faiths joining our city. By all means, allow them to worship in their own way but not to the detriment of our own faith. Come along, heads! Please use your authority and retrieve our Christian teaching!

T Robinson, King Edward Terrace, Thornton.

SIR - From my own experience, I cannot agree with the assertion that MP Marsha Singh puts the interests of the criminals before that of the victims (Letters, October 25).

I was the victim of an injustice in the civil courts which involved someone else making allegedly fraudulent claims to obtain undeserved legal aid.

On December 19, 2002, Mr Singh tabled Early Day Motion 444 on my behalf.

This motion, signed by 53 MPs, reads: "That this House is concerned that the operation of legal aid can produce injustice notably where one litigant gets assistance and the other does not or where legal aid is obtained fraudulently; and calls for a mechanism by which judgements can be set aside where abuse of the legal aid system is made evident."

In seeking to help me in this way, Marsha Singh shows that he is concerned about the victim and about injustice too. When he expresses concern about overcrowding in prison, he does so because he is a very humane person who has a degree of compassion for all.

Colin Peters, Holsworthy Road, Holme Wood.