Letters - April 5, 2017

BEGGARSSome beggars need taking off streetsI am writing in connection to the story '˜Aggressive beggars are frightening passers-by' (The Gazette, April 3).
Homeless personHomeless person
Homeless person

The people are fed up with beggars in Blackpool and around restaurants in South Shore. People feel like they don’t want to go into the town centre.

How are visitors who come to the resort going to feel if they are getting harassed all the time?

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And it’s not just in Blackpool town centre. This is happening in South Shore outside McDonald’s and further along towards Central Pier.

I do feel for the homeless people who need help but not for the beggars who go back to their council paid-for flats. They are the people who need to be taken off our streets.

Coun Derek Robertson B.E.M

Osborne Road

South shore

FRACKING

Let protesters feel full weight of law

I doubt if any one of your readers was not appalled to read in Wednesday’s edition that the protesters at the fracking site had adopted their latest protest by “locking on”.

This tactic, as reported, caused extensive disruption to the free flowing traffic with only one of the four lanes of Preston New Road being open.

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Photographs you have printed show a cavalry of police officers having to be employed, possibly called in on overtime duties at public expense.

They were certainly sufficient in number to have unshackled each one with bolt cutters and lock them up collectively or better still march them as a “chain gang” to Bonny Street nick.

There are at least two Acts of Parliament which deal with unlawful obstruction of the highways with no mention of protesters being given any exemption.

I am sure that the public are sick and tired of these groups travelling the country causing anger to the law abiding tax paying public.

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Let them then face the magistrates to receive the harshest of penalties who so often dish out fines when we know there is not a cat in hell’s chance of such fines being paid, particularly when they are booked in as “of no fixed abode”.

But let Parliament continue to rule on our behalf and do all they can to ensure the law abiders are protected.

alan Rydeheard

Former traffic police officer

Via email

FRACKING

Balanced view on fracking debate

Two different letters from both sides of the debate, which is fair-minded of you, plus a good photo story of Bez!

Thank you!

A comment on the letter from Jaqueline Taylor claiming ‘facts prove the opposite’ though. The facts which the lady has read up on would seem to have been misinterpreted otherwise why would the process of fracking have been banned, stopped or proven to be incapable of operation both safely and economically in so many parts of the world, most recently Spain and Maryland Free State, USA?

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A comment on the letter from ‘we’ll be thanking protesters one day’ is also called for. Local protesters like myself have a duty of care to our children’s immediate health and happy future on the lovely Fylde where we have chosen to live. Guest Protectors are representing the rest of our ‘green and pleasant land’ whose future is in immediate danger from water, air and ground pollution if industrial scale Fracking commences, starting here on the Fylde!

Peter K. Roberts

Clifton Avenue

Warton

TERRORISM

More debate needed on arming police

The current debate about arming police as a matter of course seems to have little to do with the recent regrettable events.

A significant number of police around Parliament are armed.

Whether all should be armed is a matter for the police authorities at that location.

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It is the ultimate scaremongering to use this in a national debate.

It is a long way from this incident to arming all police.

The local PCSO in our village would be totally out of place carrying a firearm.

I am, however, quite willing for the police in, say, six months time to have a debate on this issue.

If after this debate the police themselves want to carry arms, then I would be willing to listen – but definitely not after a number of half-baked newshounds put it forward.

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We have had a number of laws passed at the whim of the press and public opinion which have been a waste of space.

Gun laws after massacres which are still a mess.

Dangerous dog legislation, mobile phone legislation, blood sports, where is the line?

I could go on!

David Collins

Address supplied

BREXIT

Happy days are
here again...

Having sailed the world in the last days of Empire and witnessed the respect – and even love – of the British, I fought against entry into Europe. My shame when we turned our back on the Commonwealth was absolute.

June 23, 2016, was one of the happiest and proudest days of my life. My grandchildren will reap the rewards of bequeathing to the nations of the greatest empire the world has ever seen, three invaluable gifts: the example of a relatively bloodless withdrawal; representative democracy and the English language.

JB

via email