Sir - I was upset by my recent visit to Tong Cemetery, seeing it in a bad state and finding no running water from the taps around it.

My mother, who has been at rest there since the early Eighties, deserves better upkeep and better surroundings than this, and more will agree.

What has happened to all our so-called gardeners, cold water flow, etc. Why are we paying our council tax, more than £600 a year in my case.

This is not good enough, so come on Bradford Council, pull your socks up.

D Gibson-Ree, The Grove, Crossflatts, Bingley

l Bradford Council bereavement manager David Congreve said: "We are sorry that Mr Gibson-Ree was upset by the state of Tong Cemetery. We had already arranged for the broken tap to be repaired and the work is due to be carried out this week. The contractors, who do the maintenance work in the cemetery, have been slightly behind with grass cutting but are now back on schedule and as of last week are up to date with the programme at Tong. The care of graves with kerb surrounds and private memorials is the responsibility of the grave owners and we would appeal to them to keep them tidy and well maintained to improve the overall appearance of the cemetery."

Sir - The letter from Councillor Flowers (T&A, July 7) regarding a cross-city rail link cannot go unchallenged.

He asserts a link is unfeasible because the gradients were originally designed to make the link impossible. This is nonsense - there have been many schemes over the years to link the two stations.

He then states creating a link would devastate the environment of the city centre, but fails to recognise the demolition presently taking place in readiness for the Broadway shopping development, and therefore the opportunity being provided for harmonising any future rail link with the surrounding buildings.

His assertion the link would be of dubious economic and social worth is laughable. If he thinks walking hundreds of yards across the city centre between two stations or wasting time travelling to Leeds to get a suitable connection is economically and socially advantageous to Bradfordians, he's serving on the wrong council.

Finally, he states there is no public clamour or political will for the link. On the contrary, there is public clamour for regeneration of our city, there is public clamour for a resolution of our road traffic problems and there is public clamour for investment in our city.

R Villermann, Bolton Hall Road, Wrose

Sir - Coun Paul Flowers (T&A, July 7) must be living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks a railway link across Bradford would "devastate the environment of the city centre".

Is he not aware that the city council did this years ago, when they demolished most of the decent buildings in the centre and replaced them with buildings which are themselves now being demolished?

No, Coun Flowers, the city centre environment was devastated long before you came on the scene. I would agree with you that there is no political will in Bradford for a rail link, or for improving Bradford's totally inadequate transport links.

Economically, Bradford will always be in second place to Leeds, while it relies on two branch lines from that city for its main railway links and poor road links to the M62.

Roy Sucksmith, Acacia Drive, Allerton.

Sir - Jan Creamer of the National Anti-Vivisection Society (T&A, July 7) is very loud in attacking medical research but remarkably quiet telling us what we should use instead of animals to give hope to people with serious illnesses.

It would be interesting to hear how she plans to replicate a beating heart, blood system, breathing lungs, central nervous system and the way these function - some of the necessities required by researchers when studying medical conditions.

Of course no-one wants to see animals used in medical research and this is why they are only used where no alternative exists, but alleviating human suffering comes first and if it were your child's' health on the line you'd feel the same.

It's also interesting that anti-vivisection groups don't support the use of animals in veterinary medicine yet every time we give our pet medication it's benefiting from animal testing.

We should show our gratitude to medical science and acknowledge the role of animals in modern medicine.

Seriously Ill for Medical Research (SIMR) is a patients' group which supports the use of animals and genetic technology where necessary in medical research. For further information please write to the address below.

Thomas Bromley, SIMR Executive Secretary, PO Box 504, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5WS. www.simr.org.uk

SIR - An excellent example of city centre regeneration is the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham.

This smart modern retail development has replaced a tired, outdated 1960s shopping area and now offers more than 140 shops, cafes and restaurants housed in two interconnecting glass-covered, light and airy malls with a large public square in between.

The exterior is of stone and glass with a silver disc-covered Selfridges store ,which looks stunning, not ugly.

Architects Benoy designed the new Bull Ring, the same firm who have designed Bradford's Broadway development.

If the style of Bull Ring is anything like our Broadway will look then it will provide the city with fine high-quality modern architecture.

If people have any doubts that Broadway will be a 1960s remake, then take a trip to Birmingham and admire the clean contemporary architecture of Bull Ring.

Jack MacPherson, Killinghall Road, Bradford.

SIR - In a recent report Mr Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: "It is astounding that one in five benefits decisions by the Department for Work and Pensions contains errors.

"This performance is simply unacceptable given the uncertainty and hardship it can cause for society's disadvantaged and often vulnerable groups, and does little for the credibility of the social security system."

The committee found that the complexity of the benefit system remains a major problem for staff and customers alike and is a key factor affecting the performance of the department.

Disability Advice and Information Services (DAIS) wants to ensure people are aware of the benefits available to them. We offer a free benefit check to see if people may be entitled to claim any extra benefits, including the new pension credit for pensioners.

This is important as we have seen an increasing number of pension credit awards that have been incorrectly calculated leading to pensioners being underpaid between £40 and £80 a week.

Alternatively if you have been refused disability living allowance, DAIS can offer free advice on what to do next.

For details contact DAIS on (01257) 424000 or write to 81a High Street, Standish, Wigan, WN6 0HD.

Paul Brennan, director, Disability Advice & Information Services Ltd, Standish, Wigan.