No need to lose any faith in school

SIR - In relation to the Asma Shah story, I agree with the headline of your comment (T&A, January 20), this was an 'ordeal that cannot be repeated'.

It is right and proper that tighter procedures are being put in place which must prevent any repetition. In the meantime we have to hope Asma is making a full recovery from her awful experience.

I know this incident sparked shock and horror within Chapel Grange Special School. In my experience all the staff at the school - teachers, classroom assistants, caretaker, cooks - are professional, caring and concerned.

Having Asma spend seven hours strapped in a seat on a minibus is the last thing they would have wanted. The investigation may reveal how this came about: we must quickly learn any lessons.

I have every confidence that Mrs Morrison, the head teacher, will work with transport providers to make sure this is a purely one-off event.

The incident is wholly atypical of student experience of the school. I am certain also that parents of Chapel Grange students will retain their faith in the School - just as I do.

Coun John Cole (Lib-Dem, Baildon) Chairman of Governors, Chapel Grange Special School, Oakroyd Terrace, Baildon

Don't forget us

SIR - I am getting increasingly frustrated and dismayed, as a Queensbury ward councillor, at the lack of an effective police presence in the village.

It is obvious that a lone, hard-working PCSO cannot resolve the problems we have almost single-handed.

I would like to point out to the West Yorkshire Police Authority that the residents of Queensbury also pay the police precept within their council tax payments and feel it is about time they had some return on their investments.

The local villages of Allerton, Thornton and Clayton have recently had a large, highly-visible police operation to curb trouble created by large gangs of youths and troublemakers which was very effective. Why not in Queensbury?

If the police have problems finding large gatherings of troublemakers in Queensbury, please contact me and I will take the officers on a guided tour and point out where gangs of up to 20 youths congregate on an almost daily basis.

Please remember Queensbury and let us have some early action, as I for one feel we have suffered long enough.

Coun Stuart Hanson (Con, Queensbury), Greenland Villas, Queensbury

Get rid of the gum

SIR - We were brought up to burn in the fire or flush down the loo, but always to wrap up our discarded chewing gum.

Today's children should be trained to wrap the gum and not leave it on the pavements.

Outside the paper shop on Market Street, Thornton, is a total mess and the overflow of the gum is on the road. I have never seen any where as bad.

If there is any of the £14,000 they hope to get from the manufacturers available, could the Thornton people have the gum removed from this eyesore pavement?

Veronica Farnell, Market Street, Thornton

For your next trick

SIR - Two, maybe three years ago, to the relief of thousands of frustrated drivers, a filter arrow was fitted at Four Lane Ends for traffic turning into Cemetery Road from Thornton Road.

Well, those frustrated drivers are still having to break the law and turn right on red because the powers-that-be, in all this time, have not been able to find a technician who knows how to switch the thing on.

So this is a plea for the one who turned on the arrow at the Lidget Green end of Cemetery Road, for traffic turning up to Clayton (works perfectly all day and every day) to please come and do the same with our right filter.

Gordon Hemmingway, Middlebrook Hill, Bradford

Law on our side!

SIR - If Bradford magistrates' Court is to be demolished then surely the place for the new courts should be next to the Crown Court as you have indicated.

Bradford Crown Court is a far superior building to Leeds Crown Court, though I haven't had the pleasure of seeing it from the inside, though nothing could be worse than the inside of Leeds Crown Court.

If Bradford were to build a star building to house the new magistrates courts, superior to that of the recently-constructed Leeds magistrates' courts, Bradford would ironically outshine the biggest law centre outside the capital, with its public architecture.

Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire

Positive attitude

SIR - I don't know what Eric Firth is moaning about (Stop Moaning About EU, T&A Letters, January 18). Has he forgotten that we are famous for our stiff upper lip?

The fact is that people all across the world are prone to complain. If they did not nothing would be put right.

Should you find yourself booked into a bad hotel, who complains the loudest? Not the English, I assure you.

Personally, I find people's attitudes to be positive. If it is raining today then it will be fine tomorrow.

Peter J Bolton, Middlefield Court, East Morton, Keighley

Where problem lies

SIR - It is all very well saying we cannot do without being in the EU but I would suggest we cannot afford to stay in.

In addition to the fact that for 11 years the EU accounts have not been passed, there is another major problem - waste management.

The Commission for Waste Management (an unelected body) in Brussels has decided to phase out the disposal of waste by landfill and instead go for incineration and re-cycling.

However, to succeed with these plans you need to be able to carry out the necessary operations. The necessary infrastructure is not there and it will need every household in Britain to pay £400 (£10 billion in total) to put it in place and a further £8 billion-per-year to run.

As a result of these regulations, landfill sites are disappearing at a rate of three every month. EU-inspired Landfill Tax is exacerbating the problem and is due to increase to £60 per tonne over the next five to six years.

Is it any wonder we are getting huge increases in fly tipping, fridge mountains and councils only allowing their own ratepayers to tip on their sites?

John Stead, Rooley Avenue, Bradford

Flying dangers

SIR - I see that as a result of F/Lt Stead being shot down over Iraq the MoD are to give the Hercules aircraft extra protection underneath (T&A, January 16).

As one who did a two-year tour as a Special Duties pilot in the last war, may I say that if the RAF continues to operate large aircraft by day over enemy-held land they will get them shot down come what may.

We did our low-level sorties in Sterlings by moonlight and only came down low over the dropping zone.

We lost aircraft it is true but only to ack ack fire and night fighters en route.

Jack Jones, Premier Park, Ilkley

Good...and bad

SIR - I don't think you will be old enough, but during the last war there was a radio programme called ITMA and one of the catchphrases in it was 'tear it up'.

This now should be Bradford's, changed to 'tear it down', but I'm so glad to see Eastbrook Hall taking shape.

Also, who benefited from closing the Bank Street Post Office - not the public. To see people queuing outside both the other offices is disgraceful.

Susan Bannon, Glynn Terrace, Bradford

Tram's twin victims

SIR - I am tracing my family tree and somewhere along the line there was mentioned a tragic accident involving twins killed by a tram in Bradford.

This, I think, happened about 1911. Their surname was Rawson.

Do any of your readers have any knowledge of this? I would be really grateful to find out as they were my mother's siblings.

Mrs S Benham, 42 Withyham Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN393BA