SIR - In response to the letter from Mrs Evans (Letters, May 8) regarding the state of the canal towpath.

Apart from the fact that the majority of cyclists are short on courtesy and fly past you without warning (it seems bicycle bells are obsolete) and on some sections of towpath cycling is actually prohibited, is anyone aware who pays for all the resurfacing etc?

It is not the cyclist, dog walkers, pram pushers, joggers or other users. They don't contribute a penny. It's the people who actually use the canal who pay. Every boat pays literally hundreds of pounds each and every year in licensing and mooring fees to British Waterways (the longer the boat the more it costs) and bearing in mind the boats usually only use the immediate area just before and after a bridge, they aren't all that concerned about the state of the towpath, but still have to pay for it and are quite happy that BW don't pay for tarmac with their money.

There are sections of the canal itself that need repair and to boat owners this should take priority over towpaths.

Ms S Varley, North Road, Wibsey.

SIR - In reply to BA Houseman's letter "No shame in our Bradford roots" (T&A, May 8), I was born in Shipley and at the age of 22 moved to Nottingham. After 17 happy years there I moved back to Baildon so that my then four-year-old daughter could spend time with family.

I can honestly say that in 17 years spent living and working in the City of Nottingham I never felt intimidated or vulnerable - the black, Asian and white communities lived in harmony.

I have only visited the centre of Bradford once in the 12 months I have been back in Yorkshire and have never felt so vulnerable and intimidated in my life.

Yes, I do campaign against the assorted injustices in the city but unfortunately it appears freedom of speech only exists for the Asian community of Bradford.

I put my hand on my heart and say I am proud to be "Yorkshire" but in the 17 years I spent in Nottingham, never once did I admit to coming from Bradford. In fact "Bradford" is a word I use infrequently.

I take offence to being called "witless" and "spineless". I am merely a minority living in a divided city.

D Pawlowycz, Hoyle Court Drive, Baildon

SIR - I am trying to find an old friend from my days at Lapage Girls School in the early 1960s. Her name was Brenda Walker. She was my best friend at school and I have often wondered how she got on.

My name at the time was Diane Lang and I lived at Bradford Moor and emigrated to Australia in 1964.

Diane Peters, 228 Somerset Drive, Thornton, NSW, Australia 2322.

SIR - After the recent council elections, people are far too quick to dismiss the results of the BNP as inconsequential and a mere inconvenience.

In certain wards, such as Idle, they came second. Second!! This means that people would rather vote for the BNP than the Labour Party or the Conservatives in Idle. Does this not concern the powers-that-be?

The official party lines seem to be that if they dismiss the BNP out of hand, all the voters will do the same.

Wake up! They've been dismissed for years and have never come as close to seats than they did this time. Don't dismiss - listen. If the main parties continue to ignore the views of the BNP and the views of the people who vote for them, they will eventually win seats.

Democracy needs all voices to be listened to. Ignore the BNP and we will soon have them sitting in council chambers. We need policies from parties that will appease the far Right voters and bring them back to mainstream politics.

Deny people a voice and they will shout louder and louder until they are heard, or win.

M Britton, Leeds Road, Thackley.

SIR - So Usma Bashir has returned vowing she would shield the Iraqis all over again if she had to. I bet they are jumping for joy and awaiting her return with bated breath.

Indeed I bet crowds are lining the streets in preparation for a glimpse of this saviour, perhaps along with political failure Mr Dallas. They really achieved...well absolutely nothing!

Speaking to an Iraqi friend of mine recently, he said many of his relatives in Baghdad had never heard or seen any of the so-called shields and would have sent them on their way if they had for insulting the Iraqi people.

The Iraqis wanted freedom all along, given to them by Blair and Bush and their troops, not meaningless publicity stunts from sad playground activists.

Tony Sutcliffe, High Park Drive, Heaton, Bradford.