SIR – On a recent visit, I was appalled at the amount of litter on the streets of Bradford. I see also that the hole in the ground is still there; what a shame, nowhere to shop at all.

Why take something down, if you have nothing to put up again? All those jobs lost, and for what? Britannia House looks like it is going through a war zone with all the scaffolding up. The shops opposite the T&A are all boarded up.

When you look back at all the stores that were in Bradford, it was a mecca for shopping, now it is nothing. It is a city that has lost its life. I hope it gets better in years to come. Then as we were driving out of Bradford, past Undercliffe, what comes roaring at us around a corner? A four-wheeler, doing wheelies with disregard to the two ladies in the middle of the crossing. What is going on?

We are not perfect here in the States, but when a person gets life in prison, it is usually life. I won’t be visiting soon, it’s too depressing to look at the city where I used to live. I will remember it the way it used to be.

Diane Duguid, Deer Park, Long Island, New York, USA