SIR - I was more than a little interested to read in the T&A that security staff on match days at Odsal are paid for by the Council, or to be 100 per cent accurate by those of us who pay Council Tax.

What is the true cost of professional rugby at Odsal? Do we also pay for ground upkeep, heating and lighting, bar staff, policing, turf maintenance? How long has this been the situation? Bradford Northern were re-formed in the mid-1960s. Have we taxpayers funded rugby at Odsal since then?

I assume bar receipts go towards the cost of the operation at Odsal but do Bradford Bulls actually pay a proper commercial rent for the use of Odsal? How much is this rent? Surely taxpayers have a right to know, and what is the financial shortfall incurred by taxpayers? Bradford Bulls are a hugely profitable club off the field, surely not in need of any form of financial subsidy.

Finally, in the unlikely event of any development of the site, how much will the Council receive for sale of the land? Is anyone on the Council prepared to answer these points?

Barry Wood, Knights Fold, Bradford 7.

l A spokeswoman for Bradford Council said: "The current arrangements, which are commercially confidential, were made in 1986 when the Council bought Bradford Northern's (now Bradford Bulls) existing lease for the stadium. Since then the authority has been responsible for the management and maintenance of the site and receives all catering and bar income.

"The Council's responsibilities include providing stewards inside the ground, but not the policing arrangements outside the stadium.

"At present, the Council and the developer are involved in complex negotiations regarding the redevelopment of Odsal. It would be misleading to speculate on the value of this site, if it were put on the market in its current condition.

SIR - Regarding my letter requesting a later evening service and a Sunday service on the 670 Bradford - Leeds bus.

I was disappointed that Mr Hussain ignored my plea for the above service to be altered for the people of Greengates.

Instead he came up with the ludicrous suggestion that we should walk into Harrogate Road, catch a 651 - 747 bus to Bolton Road then stand waiting for a connecting Red Line bus and do the same to get back home.

Come on, Mr Hussain, surely you can do better than that. All we need is the 670 timetable altering then we don't have to do a grand tour of four buses.

Mrs W Halley, Redcar Road, Greengates.

SIR - I'm nearly 81 and would like to know who messed up the buses.

I now have to get two buses to go to Shipley, my doctor and Leeds, where before I only got one. The 671 has gone, Shipley gone.

I wish whoever did it would route themselves to the moon.

I feel sorry for the under-65s who have to pay twice. It's a rip-off.

Will you help to get the 671 and Shipley bus back please?

Mrs V Jenkins, Whitebeam Walk, Eccleshill.

Bus chaos

SIR - After numerous complaints about First Bus new routes, the verdict seems unanimous. Organised chaos!

They should use the old bus routes with the new buses or have a radical re-think.

If we want a bus to the Interchange, my wife and I now have to walk half a mile to Holme Wood Road for a 617/618 which is every half-hour or catch the 607 and get off in Petergate.

First Bradford have cut miles off regular routes and caused mayhem for Bradford's regular bus-users.

The routes are incomplete, the changeover a nightmare. Obviously thorough research was not a consideration.

Get back to the drawing board, First Bradford, and this time get it right.

M Booth, Broadstone Way, Holme Wood, Bradford.

SIR - With reference to the letters from Mr Logan and S Brook (T&A, August 2).

Bus services in the Ravenscliffe and Thorpe Edge areas were revised on July 23 as part of a number of network changes. Ravenscliffe is now served by the 645/646 "Green Line" and the 896 service via Fagley. Services to Thorpe Edge now include the 640/641 "Red Line", 670 Bradford to Leeds via Undercliffe and the 810 Hirst Wood to Five Lane Ends.

I am pleased to advise buses from Thorpe Edge to Immanuel School will be operated under contract on behalf of the Education Authority.

As an alternative to travelling via Bradford, customers who wish to travel from Ravenscliffe to Thorpe Edge can take the Green Line to Redcar Road and catch the 670.

Khadim Hussain, Operations Director, First Bradford, Bowling Back Lane, Bradford.

SIR - After the 1939-45 war, my mother used to correspond with two maiden ladies in Bradford, one of whom was my great aunt. She lived and worked in Bradford all of her life. She and her sister worked in the lace industry and it was in Bradford that she died.

My great aunt had two sisters who married and had families. I have been looking for the children of these sisters for many years now. I would love to be able to make contact and renew family ties with these cousins in Great Britain.

Annie Swaine did not marry and died in 1953. Her sisters were Louisa - who married and moved to Canada (I am her granddaughter) - Florence - who married Walter Nichols and they had a son Walter Jr who had four children - Renee, Sheila, Doreen, and a son.

Edith Swaine (born 1877) married Henry Charlwood, and they had three children - Albert, Doris and Wilfred. Wilfred had two children, one boy and one girl, born in 1940 and 1944.

I would like to find these people so that I can find out what happened to their parents and also the siblings of those parents. I would love to hear from them. My e-mail address is "Mama2see@aol.com".

Cretia Olsen, 7420 Tobuk Circle, Anchorage, Alaska, 99504-3529.

SIR - I see that the Council is considering hiving off Council house repairs. It is not before time.

It has been a nightmare for tenants not getting a decent service from the Housing Department.

But if they transfer this to the private sector, I hope they do not keep all the housing managers and officers on.

It was stated that 800 workers' jobs would be at risk. Are they any different to the private sector?

No job is safe nowadays.

The housing stock has been left to deteriorate over a vast number of years, not only short of cash but through bad management.

I personally think that Council property should be sold off to the private sector and save money on management etc.

It is all right for unions to complain but if the job is not done right, somebody is accountable.

J R Smith, Flawith Drive, Fagley.