Letters to the Editor

We too are the puzzled and angry recipients of an official police notification of apparent "speeding" at location B6145 Thornton Road near Southlands Grove, on Sunday, May 4. My husband has driven for 30 years and I never recall him speeding on any roads - not even motorways. He too has a clean driving licence.

The fixed penalty fine of £60 is bad enough but the additional endorsement of three penalty points is outrageous.

The police letter states: "A clean driving licence does not recently indicate a safe driver!" Well what exactly does indicate a safe driver? Surely a clean licence is a driver's cv when applying for a job as a bus driver or delivery man, etc.

There is no point in awarding penalty points as the former statement makes a clean driving licence null and void - thus denying the validity of such endorsements.

This is truly a case of West Yorkshire Police wanting to play by their own rules of "wanting their cake and yet eating it!"

Sheila Ognissanti, King's Road, Bradford 2.

SIR - Re Mr Firth's letter of June 3. I am a Pakistani Muslim woman who has benefited from people like Asama Javed, who as a lawyer helped me to gain freedom and independence after having lived with a violent partner for more than five years.

Asama was involved in a women's support group. I was aware, however, that a lot of men were also seeking help.

Asama was working well beyond office hours, on weekends and during holidays. She did not get paid.

Mr Firth cannot paint all lawyers with the same brush. Maybe he has had a bad experience with a lawyer or has been suffering in silence. Maybe he should ring the helpline when and if it is set up.

Shamim Akhtar, Gibbet Street, Halifax

SIR - Mr Lorriman (Letters, May 27) ask why we should continue to rely on the legal system.

Well, I would ask him to consider the alternative which would be to allow every oddball, psycho and neo-fascist to own deadly weapons and to discharge them at will if they feel a bit threatened. Not, in my opinion, a good idea.

Of course, we could follow the US model where every oddball, psycho, drug addict etc actually does own a deadly weapon.

They have about 100 times the rate of firearms deaths that we do and schoolyard massacres are an almost weekly occurrence, but then everything has a downside.

Tony Martin's action was little more than an ambush and it seems clear his intention was to kill or maim the intruders.

Of course they should not have been there. That is not in dispute. But his actions are no more justifiable than theirs.

His lack of remorse since his conviction, unfortunately encouraged by those who support him, is the reason he has been denied parole. The authorities clearly still consider him too dangerous to be released and I suspect they will know more about him than the general public do.

C D Priestley, Hatton Close, Odsal

SIR - I agree that Wilsden's Methodist Church is an eyesore, but why has this Grade 2 listed building been allowed to become one? The two villagers who were said by Donald Wright (Letters, May 21) to have objected to these plans at a recent meeting were actually three and we were representing the other Wilsden villagers who are supporting our concerns.

Villagers who are telling us to keep up the fight for this green approach us daily. We did actually hand in a petition to the Council containing more than 100 signatures.

There is a path that runs through this green that we, the residents, use and rely on. It was actually the village society that placed the path on the green more than 30 years ago!

Our next fear is the car park being placed at the junction of Crack Lane/Main Street.

This is a very dangerous junction used by rat-run commuter traffic at a very fast speed. We are concerned for our safety and we are sure that the village society would agree with our concerns.

Perhaps the Wilsden Village Society will take the Wilsden residents' concerns on board and perhaps we could work together as a village!

Mrs Sharon Walker and Mrs Betty Ward, Crack Lane, Wilsden

SIR - I read of the meeting called to address the lack of protection for Muslim women from brutal partners. It is a laudable aim. Thugs within the marital home should be severely punished.

Bana Gora, of Keighley, suggested government money should be provided for the settlement of Muslim brides from Pakistan. Working in social services she is apparently unaware that the overwhelming number of non-Muslim residents are completely against Bradford Muslims marrying foreigners.

This type of marriage results in importing poverty. It is the main reason that their children fail at school.

To adhere to Bana Gora's suggestion would only exacerbate this grievous situation, whereas every Muslim youngster should be actively encouraged to marry another British Muslim, even to the point of government money being used as a wedding present for the couple.

Les Brotherton, Caroline Street, Saltaire

SIR - Mr Taylor may be aware that since his train journey to Aberystwyth in 1991 the two stations in Manchester are now linked by light rail (T&A, May 31).

Usage of the system has increased impressively since its introduction, helping to reduce congestion and pollution in Manchester.

A light rail system in Bradford, which would connect the two stations, rather than a feeble bus link, would confer similar benefits. A greater range of services would become available, such as Skipton to Halifax across previously unconnected lines.

Building a heavy rail link would prove much more costly, but would allow greater possibilities. Longer-distance services would pass through Bradford, such as trains bound for Morecambe, Carlisle and Glasgow, which currently have to bypass the city.

Alec Suchi, (secretary, Bradford Rail Users Group), Allerton Road, Allerton

SIR - Most people realise the chances of a Bradford crossrail link are absolutely zero. Hopefully the chances of the Broadway Project being completed are slighly higher. Please let's not try and complicate matters. After all, Bradford cannot afford another Rawson Market debacle.

David Boocock, Ambaston Road, Hornsea