Letters to the Editor

My insurance costs me more than £1,300 per year but it certainly makes me think about not bothering to get insurance when the premium I pay for the year would pay that fine 65 times over. Also the same person was given no penalty for driving without MoT. What incentive is there to spend £40 on getting an MoT for your car?

Another fine of only £20 was for obstructing a police officer. This is laughable! How the heck are the police expected to carry out their duties without hindrance when fines of this piddlingly small amount are supposed to be a deterrent?

I'm not surprised that this society is becoming increasingly lawless when magistrates are giving out such small fines.

I think it's about time fines were set at a much higher level to stop such things as people dodging insurance. Maybe if they were set as high as the cost of a typical insurance policy, that would deter these dodgers!

Ron Kelly, Ashley Road, Bingley.

SIR - For many years there has been an equestrian centre in Baildon, on the edge of the moor. The riders, not necessarily from the centre, together have been making use of each and every path on the moor, presumably because it is easier for their horses.

This causes the surface to be cut up by the metal shoes and compacts the grounds in other parts causing water to gather in the "rainy season," which in turn becomes rank and boggy.

All this uneven, hoof-holed ground makes it very easy to twist an ankle, or worse.

Is it possible for bridlepaths to be indicated and footpaths for walkers separate from the riders and their horses? The moor should be a shared amenity for all to enjoy.

Geoffrey T Rogers, Hazelheads, Baildon.

SIR - Now that the war in Iraq is over and Saddam Hussein's dreadful regime is ended, we must think about the other countries in conflict.

The Iraqi peace process will take a long time, and there are so many Islamic extremists who will continue their campaign against the USA and the West. The rest of the world cannot close its eyes to terrorism as this will always be a threat from the Middle Eastern countries.

The different religions and cultures might cause conflict internally and lead to civil uprising. There might be a civil uprising like the Northen Ireland conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics.

The lost lives and casualties that the Iraqi conflict has caused will take years to repair and this will not deter the Islamic extremists bent on murder and mayhem.

The Iraqis have the right to protest against the West and the US and anti-Saddam posters, and are right in wanting a total Islamic state without the intervention of the west.

Stuart Schofield, Swaine House Crescent, Bradford 2

SIR - Mike Priestley, like others, seems to think the ordinary Iraqi is concerned about "weapons of mass destruction". Not so.

In the late 1980s some 100,000 Kurds were ethnically cleansed by Saddam and there wasn't an anti-war protester or even Karl Dallas about.

Do you think the relatives of those Kurds are happy that Saddam has gone? I'll say. Weapons of mass destruction. Who cares?

The real question is will Iraq be a better place eventually.

What do you think Mike? Or should we just find Saddam and re-instate him?

F Dickinson, Larkfield Road, Rawdon.

SIR - I thought Bradford was supposed to be becoming modern, with all these easy-access, walk-on buses? Now we appear to have reverted to the old fashioned double-deckers, with two or three steps to climb.

In the last two weeks I have seen two young ladies with babies in prams not able to board these buses, and later three elderly, infirm men on crutches unable to board at the BRI.

There was an old lame lady last week could not board the bus to Shipley at Frizinghall because of her shopping trolley bag. She was very upset.

Also I have a friend who uses a walking frame on three wheels. She could not get on the bus, so waited for the next one, which was the same type, so she could not board that one either.

After the third bus came, again of the same type, she had to struggle round to another bus stop to catch a 607 Thornton route easy-access bus.

Bradford is definitely gong back to the old-fashioned days.

Mrs Adele Cunliffe, Cobden Street, Allerton.

SIR - I'd like to remind everyone of their democratic right to vote in the local elections tomorrow.

Small political parties with racist policies can be successful by default, and if they are the fault will be with those of us who haven't bothered to vote.

We all know of examples in trade unions, in social clubs where the decent majority don't want to be bothered and the minority run things for their own advantage.

Someone once said that if you don't use your rights, someday someone stronger will come out and take them away from you. Don't let it happen here.

Use your vote!

J Gallagher, Chislehurst Place, Little Horton, Bradford.

SIR - Calling all readers who are members of golf clubs. There are only a couple of weeks left to register your entry for the Daily Telegraph Wilson Matchplay Championship.

For every golfer who enters the competition, the British Lung Foundation will be given £1.

In addition, the winners of each regional final will go into a prize draw to win a round with Monty himself at the Foundation's Colin Montgomerie Celebrity/Am Golf Tournament at Sunningdale Golf Course in October.

There are eight million people in the UK with lung conditions, including premature babies, children with asthma and adults with TB, lung cancer and COPD. The Foundation is the only national charity dedicated to working for all the people who suffer from these different lung conditions. The charity also funds research and provides information and support people through our Breathe Easy network of 116 groups around the UK.

The competition is open to all current golf club members who have an official club handicap, and an entry form is available from Freephone 0800 092 6379 or e-mail matchplay@gmmltd.co.uk.

Samantha Gosling, Special Events Manager, British Lung Foundation.

SIR - Cycle off that Easter chocolate excess by signing up for The Stroke Association's annual Thames Bridges Bike Ride!

On Sunday, June 1, the country's leading stroke charity will be holding its eighth Thames Bridges Bike Ride. Last year more than 2,000 people enjoyed a gloriously sunny day of cycling while raising vital funds to help the 300,000 people in the UK who are living with the effects of stroke.

This year's 30-mile cycle ride from Tower Bridge to Hampton Court crosses 14 bridges over the River Thames. All cycling abilities are welcome to take part, and there are no time restrictions for completing the ride.

To receive a free fundraising pack telephone Angela Pavey on 020 7566 0311 or e-mail nationalevents@ stroke.org.uk. You can also register online by logging on to www.stroke .org.uk/tbbr/tbbrwelcome.htm.

Angela Pavey, National Events Manager, The Stroke Association.

SIR - Has Nicola Ruck (Letters, April 24) considered that US taxpayers might not want their hard-earned taxes to go towards "solving" Africa's many, mostly self-created problems which, far from ever being solved, seem to grow with the donations?

Still, if you're an African dictator, or a leading charity organiser, the last thing you would want is for the donations to end. So there will always be problems. They'll make sure of that.

Don't tell other people, or countries what to do with their money. If you want to give, do it.

Eric Firth, Wellington Street, Wilsden.

SIR - I feel very sorry for the children involved in the traffic accidents on two estates ("Please make our Roads Safe, April 23).

But if, as residents state, there are cars and bikes racing down these roads, why oh why is a three-year-old allowed to venture across one to get to an ice cream van?

Surely it is more parental supervision rather than traffic calmers that is required. No wonder David Blunkett, right, is thinking of obligatory courses in parenting.

These comments in no way excuse motorists, who drive too fast in residential areas, but parents must take some of the blame.

P E Bird, Nab Wood Terrace, Shipley.