Just days before the local elections the world remembered those who paid the ultimate price for defending our freedom during the D-Day landings sixty years ago.

As the soulful notes of the Last Post and the piper's lament drifted away on the wind, thousands of people were using, or had already used, the hard won democratic right to vote. In this area 4,546 residents put their cross beside the names of the extreme right-wing British National Party candidates -- a situation which has shocked and stunned many.

Those who believe in Keighley, including this newspaper, are now galvanising themselves into action, ready to ward off any negative reactions to the results from potential investors and visitors.

The BNP vote is undoubtedly the loudest wake up call Keighley has had for many a year -- which in a perverse way could be argued is no bad thing. What it must make us do is face up to certain harsh realities.

It should make us realise that re-burying our heads in the sand is not an option. Putting another sticking plaster over an already festering sore is just not on. Bumping along the baseline without facing up to those reality will achieve nothing.

We need to ask questions, the basic one being, of course, why did so many people vote for the BNP? Surely they can't all be supporters of the declared aims and objectives of the BNP.

Already expressed reasons for the BNP vote include 'I'm not a racist, but...' beliefs such as: there's one law for them and another one for us; they get huge grants for things and we get nothing; they're all on benefits and we're working to keep them; asylum seekers get homes while we struggle to keep a roof over our heads; they deal in drugs and abuse our daughters.

One reader advances the view that the people who voted for the BNP are normal people. They are the moderate and silent majority whose real views have been pushed aside by the political establishment for too long. The vote was simply to draw attention to their dissatisfaction.

As for 'they' or 'them' -- it is time the community as a whole did some soul searching as well. Are some sections of the community stuck in a time warp? What greater part could members of the community play in forging the future of Keighley? What is being done to counter the negative views?

Before polling, Keighley had an undeserved reputation for racial intolerance. One reason for this incorrect impression is that the town has had the nerve to put issues on the table and discuss them.

So, what are we all going to do about the situation?

What is needed is for a Keighley body -- perhaps the maturing Town Council -- to have the courage to take the lead and put these issues on the agenda for further public debate and discussion. It is vital that we get our hands dirty and hopefully, through full, open and frank discussion, address and resolve these issues.

Great strides are being made to build on and restore the pride in Keighley, with realistic hopes for a prosperous future. Just look at the bright visions in the Airedale Masterplan. To prevent the brakes being applied to the positive momentum, we need to act fast and retrieve the town's reputation before any lasting damage is done.

As a postscript, it is well worth putting into the mental equation the comment of another letter writer, who says in a cross-reference to D-Day and the BNP vote 'may the families, the surviving comrades and the ghosts of those who died forgive us'.