Letters - May 22, 2017

CYCLISTS ON PAVEMENTPavements are '¨not safe any moreI am in total agreement with all that Trevor Wainwright says about cyclists riding on the pavement. But he and people who share his opinions are wasting their time and breath.
Cyclist on the pavement in FleetwoodCyclist on the pavement in Fleetwood
Cyclist on the pavement in Fleetwood

While there are many sensible cyclists equipped with lights, warning devices, helmets et cetera who do obey the law, unfortunately they are sadly in the majority.

The pavements can never again be pedestrian safe since the council condoned pedestrian and cyclist sharing.

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It was dangerous enough before the council made it legal. Pavement sharing, ie Bloomfield road to name one, where it is not only condoned but encouraged with matchstick men painted on the pavement. It could even be reasonably safe now if it could be relied upon for cyclists to act responsibly.

Again, no doubt some do but the majority ride the pavements like they are competing in the Tour de France. On a busy street they will come past you from behind on both sides simultaneously at full tilt. And these are not young children, they are adults. More dangerous still is the practise of meeting a gang of three or four coming round a blind bend leaving you nowhere to go except the road.

Maybe the council will stop this ‘sharing’ after a baby is maimed or killed when its mother walks out of her driveway with her child in a push chair into the path of an aspiring Bradley Wiggins.

John Kent

Park Road, Blackpool

PRAISE

Thank you for help after my fall in street

I would like to thank the kind motorists who stopped to help me when I had a fall in Chapel Road on Wednesday evening.

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Also thank you to the lady who went to bring my husband, and the couple who stayed with me until he arrived.

It was so kind, and very much appreciated.

Also the doctors and nurses at A&E who looked after me so well.

Eunice Clark

Marton

CRUELTY

Fox hunting has no place in society today

So Prime Minister Theresa May wants to bring back fox hunting.

Apparently foxes are a ‘pest’ say the pro-hunt brigade.

Now, some people may say burglars are also ‘pests’. Like foxes, they intrude into someone’s property and take something from the householder (although foxes do this to feed themselves or their young).

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So according to pro-hunters’ logic, should we then also have a pack of red-coated individuals on horseback with foxhounds chasing after convicted burglars and then, once the exhausted burglar has ran for miles, kill him (or her) in a vicious way.

What? You say that is a medieval punishment?

That we wouldn’t have such a barbaric, nasty punishment in the 21st century?

But we do have such a medieval ‘punishment’ for a fellow sentient being.

I say fox hunting has no place in modern society.

Name and address supplied

CHARITY

Thank you for your decluttering efforts

I want to thank your readers who have been supporting the British Heart Foundation (BHF) this spring by decluttering and donating items from their clear out to their local BHF shop.

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I work at The University of Manchester as a BHF Professor and wanted to tell your readers about my current research project, funded by the BHF. My research focuses on how differences in the genes we inherit from our parents can increase our risk of cardiovascular disease. This work could lead to the discovery of genes responsible for cardiovascular disease and develop new therapies which could help thousands of families worldwide.

My project is just one of over 1,000 research projects that the BHF currently funds at universities across the UK, investigating every aspect of heart and circulatory disease – from causes and better drugs to improving surgical techniques. Each of these projects are only made possible by the BHF’s generous supporters and each unwanted item donated this spring brings us one step closer to the next big breakthrough in heart research.

I cannot thank the people of the north west enough for helping to support such an important and worthy cause. There are currently 844,000 people living with cardiovascular disease across the north-west of England and I’m sure every reader will have been touched by heart disease in some way or another whether it be personally, through a family member or close friend.

If you are yet to have your clear out or would like to support your local BHF shop at other times of the year, they are always in need of items to fill their rails and shelves so please do keep them in mind for you unwanted items. To find your local shop, order free donation bags or find out more about the free home collection service, please visit bhf.org.uk/bagit

Prof Bernard Keavney

BHF funded researcher

FOOTBALL

A way for fans to watch play-off final

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After Thursday night’s fantastic result for Blackpool Football club getting to yet another Wembley play-off final, it would be sad to see Blackpool not get the support they deserve, so here’s an idea. How about the Oyston family waive all the profits they will make from the final at Wembley and perhaps donate it to the local mayor’s charity or perhaps a football related charity? Then all the Blackpool supporters who ‘signed up’ for the ‘Not a penny more’ demonstration could go to Wembley with a clear conscience and give the team the support they deserve. Just a thought.

Mr L McLair

Via email