THE list of complaints by Skipton High Street shops of filth, excrement and broken glass they find outside their premises every day is a pretty damning indictment of the town.

Probably Skipton is no different from a host of other market towns but it is an unpleasant aspect which sees pretty little Skipton turned at weekends into some sort of enormous cess pit.

A bylaw banning drinking in public will have little effect on this. There will always be a number who cannot hold their drink and a greater number who need to break into boorish chants for their night's entertainment. Much though this might infuriate quieter members of society, they are doing nothing wrong in patronising the town's pubs - indeed, it is probably a time-honoured rite of passage for local youths.

More effective, and welcome, would be a ban on drinking in Holy Trinity churchyard. This is a place to enjoy, watching the world go by or indulging in some quiet reflection, particularly on a warm summer's day. It is most certainly not a venue for a spot of alcoholic orange juice swilling, swearing and passer-by-baiting.

Hopefully our council will do something it is not renowned for - get a move on - and bring this bylaw into operation.