ONE councillor has likened them to 'Darth Vaders' on motor bikes while a town stalwart has branded them a 'waste of time'.

Whatever the outcome of introducing security guards to Otley's Wharfemeadows Park, their very presence is likely to polarise opinion.

Certainly in the eyes of many residents and businesses who suffer noise, vandalism and crime on an almost weekly basis, they will be most welcome.

It's not difficult to understand the frustration of finding rubbish thrown into your front garden the morning after the night before each and every weekend.

Nor of those businesses whose property is vandalised on a regular basis, costing not only valuable time but money as well.

Another important consideration is the image the park conveys to visitors. No-one in Otley wants people to come away with memories of lager cans littering the grass along with the louts who drop them there.

We also don't want anyone to feel intimidated about taking a stroll through the park, whether they are only visiting or are residents. Wharfemeadows Park is, after all, the much-valued jewel in Otley's crown.

The question is whether bringing in leather-clad motorcycling security guards is something of an over-reaction and one which will do little to solve the problem in the longterm.

As Alderman Norman Hindle points out, yobs intent on causing problems will either wait until the guards have passed, or go somewhere else entirely.

And while we think about the image we want to convey, do security guards necessarily put across the right message or do they suggest that Otley has problems far worse than the ones we have experienced?

For example, the fantastically flowery Shawn the Sheep featured on our front page has survived so far. At least the security patrols should make sure he, and others like him, are around for others to enjoy for some time.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.