IN a letter last Saturday to an evening newspaper Philip Loudon wished to contest the point that allegations brought against Robert Bleakley were 'trivial'.

His letter stated "the public's faith in local democracy has been damaged".

He is right; our faith has been harmed but not by Mr Bleakley's misdemeanours.

We, the electors in Atherton, Hindsford and Tyldesley who voted for Robert Bleakley at the last election, had trust in him and his policies.

He was the man whom we could put our trust in, to speak for us.

Last May, in his election campaigns and in everything else, he showed how hard a councillor can work for his ward. He campaigned on things that mattered to us rather than other parties' faults.

Our 'faith in democracy' was increased because of him, not diminished. Our votes actually made a difference.

Even Labour councillors have praised Robert's work ethic. Cllr Walker mentioned during a recent full council meeting that no one can deny that 'Councillor Bleakley works hard for his area'.

Vet JM Hart paid tribute to Mr Bleakley for being 'approachable, helpful and supportive of the local community's concerns'.

He has not been the only Wigan councillor to have been barred from office. We have not lost just a good councillor but one of the most honest, down to earth men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I don't feel let down by him. I feel let down by the judgement of the Standard's Board.

At least we still have one good councillor left to represent us, Neil Hogg.

James Stackhouse

Crawford Avenue

Tyldesley