Letters to the Editor

It's services like these that show we can hold our heads up as a modern liberal democracy.

I suppose there's no chance of them actually giving away the drugs and making the users find their own needles?

No, that suggestion is ill conceived - the drug dealers wouldn't like it at all. I suppose the rest of us would get a bit of peace and quiet, but then, what have we done to deserve any consideration?

It's a small criticism, I know, but wouldn't it actually be more convenient for the junkies if the needles were available in some other area where drug related activities - drug dealing and selling stolen goods - already take place?

As far as I know this doesn't yet happen in Cavendish Street. Then they wouldn't have so far to stagger. Perhaps the idea is to attract them into areas where the pickings from shoplifting are better. How thoughtful!

George Speller

Delph Barn

Hainworth, Keighley

SIR - I would like to congratulate Keighley for the beautiful displays of flowers in tubs, beds and hanging baskets.

I have never seen Keighley looking so beautiful. Many thanks to the horticultural department and also for those who have sponsored the roundabouts and flower beds.

ELAINE MARSHALL

Shann Park, Keighley

SIR - I am writing to register my disgust at the way small businesses seem to be getting picked on by the planning department and yet over development and whole estates of houses seem to get passed.

I am referring to Cyber-Dine whose tenants visited the planning department before their shutters were erected and a planning manager who was in Keighley at the time approved their current shutter design. Cyber-Dine looks far better than a derelict area which it has been for more than a decade and the owners Mike Dawson and Danielle Briston have rejuvenated their premises without handouts and grants.

The current steel shutters, I am sure the general public will agree, are far more aesthetically pleasing and better than the eyesore building which was there before.

Poor Cyber-Dine are in a real Catch 22. If they do not have heavy steel shutters they will not get insurance cover and if they do have to bow to these rules they will incur unnecessary non-budgeted expenses which to any new business can be critical.

I really do hope that more shutters such as those brown ones in North Street are not encouraged as they remind me of the colour of dog dirt. As Cyber-Dine are open 12 hours a day from 9 am to 9 pm I really cannot see why steel coloured shutters are even an issue.

Please planning do not try to put fellow traders out of business when you have already approved shutters. Businesses need to be worked with not against by all departments and I am sure that Bonapartes Restaurant in Silsden will agree with me too after their battle.

NICOLA NUTTON

Keighley Market Pet Stores,

Keighley

Sir - Just a comment to let you know what a pleasure it is to see how you have upgraded your website over the past few months.

Much easier to read and the file response is consistent.

We read the "Keighley News" every week and enjoy it. It is interesting to note how frequently you have articles or letters from persons that emigrated from Keighley and are now trying to re-establish contact, wonder how many are out there.

Keep up the good work.

Dave Wood

SIR - Cockroaches, rats, eternal building work, filthy rooms, party goers that keep going all night, even child-biting crocodiles.

Unfortunately these are just some of the disasters that people have experienced on their longed-for holidays. Yorkshire Television has included these real experiences and many more in their Holidays From Hell programmes, and is looking for people to take part in a new series.

Have you just been bitterly disappointed with your annual trip away?

If you have had big holiday problems and you want to talk about them on TV, give us a call on 0113 222 8649 and ask for Tanya. We would love to hear from you, and we may be able to help.

MARY RAMSAY,

Producer - Holidays from

Hell, Yorkshire Television.

Sir - I would strongly like to offer my displeasure at the way the money which was awarded for the upkeep of the tarn at Blackhill has been spent.

Around the path when the grass is mown it is not cleared properly. It can be a hazard to pensioners like myself or the disabled.

The trees on the walk need to be attended to. Some more waste bins would help stop littering.

All in all for so much money that was allotted it is a very poor show. Such incompetence would not be allowed at Ilkley or Harrogate.

J. P. MORRISROE

West Lane, Keighley

A council spokesman says: "Work on the £50,000 improvement scheme to Blackhill Tarn is on-going.

The first phase of works - including new car parking facilities, the repair of walls and improvements to the tarn island for wildlife habitat - is now complete.

"The next phase - to finish the scheme - will involve the introduction of new trees and the cutting back of existing trees, new seating and picnic tables and the planting of shrubs and aquatic plants around the edge of the tarn. These works will be carried out during the tree-planting season in the autumn.

"With regard to clearing grass cuttings left on pathways, we will take up this matter with the landscape contractor."

SIR - Last Friday (Aug 18) a neighbour's burglar alarm went off at 11.30pm.

"Don't bother to phone the police they won't do anything," said my partner, before going back to sleep."

By the time I had found the police help number - 0865 6060606 - it was 11.45pm.

When I was put through to Wakefield I thought that was probably the end of the story, and that the trail would surely go cold.

I have to report that a police car arrived from Keighley police station at 11.55pm, a journey that cannot be made in less than 10 minutes.

As it happened a relative arrived at the same time as the police and was able to switch off the alarm.

I would like to thank Keighley police for their prompt response and suggest that householders do what I have now done - post the immediate response number beside the telephone.

OXENHOPE RESIDENT

(NAME AND ADDRESS

SUPPLIED)

Sir - I would personally like to ask your readers to support an awards campaign organised by the National Kidney Research Fund called the "Young Hero" awards.

Kidney disease can have a truly devastating effect on a child's life. It is often a "silent" illness and people may not even be aware that they have it until at an advanced stage of renal failure - at which point they may have to go on dialysis, and become candidates for a transplant.

Kidney disease can affect a large number of people. For example, thirty babies are born each day with a condition called Vesicouretic Reflux, which can lead to kidney infection, scars, high blood pressure and kidney failure.

The National Kidney Research Fund is looking for children who have been affected by kidney disease and shown real fighting spirit - whether they suffer from a kidney condition themselves, or have a close relative who is affected (recent estimates indicate that 50,000 young people under the age of 18 are carers.)

The two national young heroes will receive a cheque for £2000, £500 of which can be spent as they like, and £1500 to be contributed to a local cause, whether it's their local school, hospital, social centre or doctors surgery.

The campaign is running locally in your area, as well as nationally.

You can find out more by ringing the National Kidney Research Fund helpline on 0845 300 1499 (local rate). They will be able to supply an entry pack, as well as answering queries on kidney disease that you may have.

I gladly support a campaign that raises awareness of kidney disease.

So if you know of a young hero whose childhood has been irrevocably affected by kidney disease please tell the National Kidney Research Fund all about them.

ANTHEA TURNER

The National Kidney

Research Fund

SIR - Re: "Cloning Experts Warn of Deadly Viruses"

Recent media reports that the Roslin Institute has halted tests using pig organs for transplant comes as no surprise to the National Anti-Vivisection Society.

For many years we have warned of the potential dangers of transplanting animal organs to humans, and are relieved that our concerns have finally been heard.

From past experience, we know that several diseases have already jumped the species barrier, including Marburg virus and the hepatitis B virus, while current research suggests that the AIDS virus originated in chimpanzees.

Although drugs exist to prevent organ rejection, these are dangerous in themselves, and there remains a possibility that pigs may host viruses which may not affect them, but could cause disease in another species.

Researchers already know that there are fundamental anatomical differences between human and pig hearts, and have acknowledged the difficulties presented by the different lifespan of a pig, which is significantly shorter than a human life, yet they have continued to inflict pointless suffering upon animals while unrealistically raising the hopes of sick people.

We applaud the British Medical Association for calling for a system of "presumed consent", whereby organs can be removed from a dead person without permission, unless they have "opted out". It is a practical, humane and realistic solution to the dearth of human organs currently available.

We hope that other research centres will now follow the Roslin Institute's example and shift their focus away from xenotransplantation and instead look to human solutions for human diseases.

SHELLEY SIMMONS

National Anti-Vivisection

Society

SIR - As team captain for this year's Great British Swim in October, I appeal to all your readers to take the plunge and join this unique swimming event to raise money for the National Asthma Campaign - the independent UK charity working to conquer asthma.

You don't have to be an Olympic swimmer like me. Whether you're a club swimmer or someone who simply enjoys an occasional dip in the local pool, the event for you.

Being one of the 3.4 million people in the UK who have asthma, I know how important it is to raise cash to find the causes and treatments for this long term condition.

To find out how you can get involved, call Great British Swim organiser Clare Green on 020 7704 5861.

KAREN PICKERING MBE

National Asthma Campaign