People living on the Delph Hill estate, Bradford, have a right to be concerned about tonight's TV documentary which uses interviews with children to paint a picture of life there.

The makers of Eyes of a Child wanted to show the impact that growing up in poverty has on young children, and it is likely that many people will be shocked by the programme.

Delph Hill is just one of a number of estates across the country featured in the programme, but the people living there are worried the area will be unfairly tarnished by one-and-a-half hours of television.

Poverty exists on a large scale in Bradford, of that there is no doubt. Recent figures show that 200,000 people in the district live in poverty - that means 42 per cent of the area's population live in some of Britain's most deprived wards.

There are no easy answers but a number of positive steps are being made to try to tackle the problems and people living in Delph Hill would perhaps be happier if tonight's programme focused on at least some of them.

Of course it is valid to highlight the terrible toll that living in poverty can take and tonight's programme will probably be very significant in bringing home to tens of thousands the plight faced by some of Britain's children.

But it must also be remembered that Delph Hill is part of the £108 million Royds regeneration scheme, which has a reputation for its success, which is still working to improve housing conditions, cut crime and help people get jobs.

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