SIR - I am happy to see the issues about deafness discussed in your newspaper recently and I thank you for that.

There is a problem we have to address in terms of access for deaf people, as many deaf children have problems reading English. It is often not realised that the first language of many deaf people is British Sign Language (BSL) and not English.

For many deaf children BSL is far easier to understand as it is a visual language, so if we establish a good language base through BSL, it is then possible for that child to learn English in order to grow up literate.

Deaf children learning through BSL will increase their chances of achieving success in the other school subjects at the same rate as hearing children.

I fully agree with and support Carol McEachran and your editorial of August 6 on cinema subtitles. Subtitles will provide full access to films and will also be an incentive to enhance English skills and to increase the understanding of the young people through the written word.

Subtitling will also help to ensure that deaf children develop good language skills in English.

Dave Muir, Head of School & Service, Thorn Park School & Service for Deaf Children, Thorn Lane, Bradford 9

SIR - Having read the opinion of one obscure researcher in America, Mike Priestley (North of Watford, August 3) accuses the Government of buying the wrong smallpox vaccine.

Had he not been blinded and deafened by another bout of his virulent anti-politician prejudice, he would have read in The Times and heard on Radio 4 the opinion of leading British experts that the Lister strain is recognised here and across the world as the best.

He would also have found out that a donation of £40,000 (not £100,000 as he alleges) to the Labour Party would not influence officials in the Department of Health who are responsible for selecting the supplier and placing the order.

It is not therefore surprising that journalists are even more poorly regarded than politicians when they churn out such rubbish as this.

In future might I suggest that Mr Priestley takes his own advice which appears above another piece on the same page: "Get your facts right next time."

Brian Holmans, Langley Road, Bingley.

SIR - Though I agree totally with the sentiments expressed by Peter R.Bowers in his letter of August 8, I have to tell him that the European Court of Human Rights is not an institution of the European Union and is not seated in Brussels.

This organisation was created under the aegis of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (the European Council in Brussels is something else entirely) and has 41 signatory states to its European Convention on Human Rights.

The European Court of Justice, on the other hand, is an institution of the European Union that has no jurisdiction over British courts unless called upon by them to clarify aspects of European Law - dealing mainly with matters of trade.

The UK used the ECJ to rule that France was in breach of the rules governing the single market by refusing to allow the import of British beef. And British courts used European Law to establish that British customs officers were in breach of the single market rules by searching and confiscating goods and vehicles returning to this country.

Stuart Baker, Place St Michel, Etalle, Belgium

SIR - We have a great new civic space with an imposing backdrop of City Hall - it cost us £5 million.

But any city bidding to be a Capital of Culture needs to show a bit more "culture" or at least imagination than to embellish this new public square with a boring newspaper kiosk.

Apart from the bid, surely the citizens enjoying the sunshine in their lunch hour or just crossing the square deserve more to stimulate the mind or uplift the spirit.

Aileen Thomas, Dale Croft Rise, Allerton.

SIR - I discovered the T&A on the internet and find it interesting because I had relatives from Yorkshire.

The story of the woman driver who had an accident when her car crossed a cattle grid drew my attention because I am a cattle rancher in South Dakota and we find cattle grids (we refer to them as cattle guards, or car gates) a definite convenience.

Opening gates is too time consuming and often exposes one to foul weather in the minus 50 deg C temperatures during several months of winter.

It appears to me that the lady might not have been minding the weather conditions to the degree she should have. Is it possible to smooth the approaches to the grid?

The grids on our ranch are on gravel tracks, but we have never had an accident on them. There is a grid in Badlands Park nearby on a macadam road and there are no problems with accidents there either.

Best of luck for the future of the grid and the people crossing over it.

Maxine Jones, Midland, South Dakota, USA

SIR - Re the T&A front page on Monday, August 5. If the authorities were restricting the number of people attending the free Gareth Gates event to 10,000, how did 15,000 attend and acclaim him without a disaster taking place?

Trevor Hill, Harbour Crescent, Bradford 6.

SIR - I would like to give credit to all the staff on Ward 9, BRI, for looking after me for a week. From nurses to domestic you would not get more care anywhere. These are the people who should be in the honours list, not footballers and actors.

J R Smith, Flawith Drive, Fagley.

SIR - The Telegraph & Argus ran a story a couple of months ago about a club owner rightly being refused a licence to run lap dancing sessions at his establishment. The Council was steadfast in its refusal to grant a licence, as one would expect of any decent council.

Imagine my dismay when on Sunday I saw an advertisement for the appearance of the Chippendales at one of the same Council's prestigious venues, St George's Hall.

It has been pointed out to me in the past that the reason why the Chippendales are deemed acceptable is that their act does not see them "au natural".

As far as my knowledge of lap dancing goes, that also does not involve "complete nudity". I am assured, however, that it does involve more than a little sexual titillation, as does the act performed by the Chippendales.

If I was the owner of the "banned" lap dancing club, I would be asking my legal team to be preparing to challenge the Council in a court of law about their obvious sex discrimination policies.

Bradford, Capital of Culture? I think not somehow!

Michael Booth, Moorcroft Drive, Tong Street, Bradford 4.

SIR - Watching the Commonwealth Games from Manchester on television, I felt that Britain should be proud of its competitors. The Government and local councils should invest in sports facilities to give the sports people more chances.

Bradford Council should invest in Odsal Stadium and get it off the ground so it can be part of the Capital of Culture bid. It should be modernised so Bradford too could host such events as the Commonwealth Games.

It would put the city back on the map and encourage businesses to invest more in Bradford.

Martin Palliser, Waincliffe House, Laisterdyke, Bradford

SIR - Having just received the latest propaganda leaflet from the British National Party, I should like to make it clear that I organised the petition campaigning for the re-opening of Queensbury police station, not the BNP.

Also, although Paul Cromie did in fact donate £1,000 towards the refurbishment costs, this money is still sitting in a bank account as the full costs of £15,000 have been met by the police authority.

The refurbishment work is now ongoing and the police station should be operational within the next three months.

Councillor Stuart Hanson (Conservative), Greenland Villas, Queensbury.

SIR - To see in the middle of one of Bradford's beauty spots, Shipley Glen, two burned-out cars, is so ugly. The devil is alive and well!

Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire.