Letters to the Editor

Several weeks ago I was aghast to find my way barred to the household waste tip at Wyke. There is a barrier on the entrance that will not permit my "Discovery" to enter (it is 2.02m high).

Furthermore, the attendant when appraised of this major problem refused to move the barrier and I was forced to carry all the items (and some were heavy) a good 50 yards from the car to the skip.

If we are to encourage the public to keep our Bradford tidier, then we must make our public waste-disposal sites easier to access!

Derek Round, Clayton Heights, Bradford 6.

SIR - I am writing in response to the article about modest heroine Andrea Thompson who saved the life of a baby after it was catapulted from its mother's arms when the car was in collision with a stolen car. The parents of the baby I am sure are indebted to her.

This accident highlights the importance of making sure that babies are not carried on knees but are properly fastened in to approved car seats. Another safety campaign needs to be launched to highlight this, and to remind us that it is also the law.

More and more children are driven around loose in the back or front of the car, often while the parents are securely fastened by seat belts.

I wish the baby a speedy recovery and would like to say, well done Andrea.

Alison McGowan, Wyke Lane, Oakenshaw, Bradford.

SIR - I do hope the Bradford Grammar School girls manage to raise the half million pounds for an astro-turf pitch so they can enjoy their sport in all weathers.

Perhaps they could also consider a bus bay so that Squire Lane - a route to BRI - is not blocked every afternoon by buses and cars picking up the pupils.

G Hutchinson, Great Horton Road, Great Horton.

SIR - Re all the arguments about the euro and the European constitution, here is what will happen.

We will be told it's not for us as it stands in its present form but we are negotiating get-out clauses in some areas to suit the UK.

In, say, six months' time we have our safeguards in place and can now sign up. Now here comes the clever bit.

The constitution states that all members joining must use the same currency. So the referendum on the euro is sidestepped. We are already signed up to the euro despite last week's Cabinet decision.

This is why the politicians are saying there is no need for a vote on joining the EU constitution.

They are going to sneak into the euro by the back door before people catch on what is really happening. Then, having surrendered the UK, step forward President of Europe Tony Blair to get his 30 pieces of silver. Wake up the UK! It's not too late.

Tony Redgrave, Claremont Grove, Wrose, Shipley.

SIR - We must not get involved any deeper in the EU than we already are. We have everything to lose and nothing to gain long term.

The cost to the British taxpayer is obscene and when the other less financially sound countries join in the near future we will have to pay billions more and get less than the little we have to beg for now.

We must not let a few dreamers try to dupe us into letting this corruptive, non-elected, overpaid, workshy band in Brussels tell us what to do. True Brits are not subservient to anyone.

We must not lose our independence under any circumstances. They who hold the purse call the tune.

Even if the five economic tests are secured the next time the Cabinet considers this issue, the EU have a funny way of changing them to their benefit at a later date.

Derek Wright, Westbury Street, Bradford 4

SIR - Am I alone in finding shallow letters from ex-pats distasteful? I note that Diane Duguid in her sour letter of June 10 refers to the American leader, respectfully, as President Bush. Our own PM she scornfully refers to as Blair or Tony Blair.

Although I haven't seen the ad she refers to, I fail to see why she found Mr Blair plugging the British Tourist Authority offensive. As far as I know he has no pecuniary interest in tourism. Please don't judge our PM by American political standards.

She comments: "Stick to what you do best, which is....?"

I would have thought that anyone who lives in the USA would be appreciative of the PM's courage in supporting the American action in Iraq in the face of fierce opposition by many politicians and from much of the electorate.

Robert Hughes, Manor Gardens, Cullingworth.

SIR - In the absence of solid foolproof evidence that Iraq did possess a secret stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, I am in doubt of the honesty of Bush and Blair.

In order to uphold their power and principals, the United Nations should now impose a deadline for Bush and Blair to produce sound evidence in support of their aggression against Iraq. Failure to provide such evidence should put both leaders on trial by the War Crimes Commission. This would conform to democratic justice.

Under Blair, this country is now governed by a dictator.

This is proved by his action against Iraq without the consent of the majority of our democratic electorate.

Large numbers of fee-paying members have resigned from the Labour Party, and if the rank-and-file Labour MPs do not dump Blair, he will eventually dump them.

Ken Mathew (aged 91 and a former life-long worker and supporter of the Labour Party), Greenhead Road, Utley, Keighley.

SIR - I see that the self-seeking French have been at it again. Once more their air traffic controllers were on strike. No flights at all from Yorkshire and only two from Heathrow.

The next event will be the blocking of ferry ports.

Why don't we give the French a taste of their own medicine? Let everybody in the UK boycott anything to do with France, especially wine and champagne (which we buy more than anyone else).

I personally do not buy anything French, and I once loved France.

If you wish to go to Europe, go from Hull to Zeebrugge or to Santander in Northern Spain. You don't need to go via France.

N Brown, Peterborough Place, Undercliffe.

SIR - I agree wholeheartedly with P J Hunter in respect of the "dumbing down" of vocabulary in some of your readers' letters nowadays.

One can be entertaining, controversial or just plain whimsical without resorting to fifth-form schoolboy insults.

Mr Williams-Berry's tirade of abuse against those who question the ethics of angling does his cause untold damage. How can one debate with an individual who cannot articulate beyond the jibe of "sad plonker"?

His paranoia with the so-called "Interference Society", who he perceives cares a little too zealously for the welfare of animals, speaks volumes about his heartlessness.

Without such "interference" down the ages we'd be now living in a society that celebrates bear-baiting, cock-fighting and organised dog fights.

I've always maintained that there aren't enough people "interfering" about barbaric practices or injustices in society.

Geraldine Erskine, Sunningdale, Bradford 8.

SIR - I enjoyed reading (T&A, May 31) about the undercover police apprehending the Polish purse snatchers, but best of all dealing with them quickly and deporting them on a plane to where they came from.

I am sure there are a lot more thieves, muggers and carjackers who could be dealt with the same way.

Keep up the good work, undercover police.

Veronica Farnell, Market Street, Thornton.

SIR - June 23-29 is Motability's Tea Party Week. Thousands of people up and down the country will be inviting friends and family to enjoy a cup of tea, biscuits and cakes and help raise money for Motability, the national charity which helps disabled people and their families become mobile through the provision of a car or powered wheelchair.

All anyone who wants to host a tea party needs to do is phone 08705 100444 for a free Tea Party pack, which gives all the information needed including invitations, a money-off voucher for Yorkshire tea and a cake recipe. Choose a date to hold your party and then invite your friends along.

I've been a Motability customer for around 20 years now and have been driving myself for 12 years. Thanks largely to Motability, I have the freedom, independence and mobility to get around and live life to the max. In this special year for Motability, we are celebrating 25 years of providing cars and wheelchairs for disabled people.

Julie Fernandez (of The Office TV series), c/o Motability.