I READ with interest your front page article about the Ryelands Estate and I have to say to bulldoze the estate will do nothing to sort out the problems. It is a minority of the people there - not the estate itself that causes the trouble.

I lived on Ryelands until it became impossible to live there due to damage done to our property. Some £2,500 worth of damage was caused in fewer than 12 months. But I did observe the problems first hand.

First of all it is not all the children's fault. The off-hand attitude of the over 60s is just as much to blame. They allow grandchildren to stay on the estate then allow them to run riot causing trouble. They also allow their grown up kids to visit and when they cause trouble they say they can't be held responsible for their children's actions.

One elderly woman said when I arrived on the estate with a new car: 'It's too good a car for this estate. I give it a week before its damaged!' If that's the attitude of the elderly to their estate you can't blame the kids alone for not taking any pride. They would have the same attitude with new houses.

We also hear a lot about the estate being racist. That's not the truth by a long way. It's an excuse to cover up for other things going on. They just don't like outsiders coming on the estate because they threaten what bad members of the community are doing.

There was a time when there was trouble every night and police swamped the estate which made life difficult for some so they made sure the trouble stopped and when the police left they returned to causing trouble.

The problem is the attitude of the people young and old who live there towards their community. In our experience they don't want it to change.

Name and address supplied

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