I WALKED my dog in Witton Park, something I do almost every day. I consider myself privileged to have such a beautiful place to walk in.

I respect this and always take a bag to clean up after my dog.

On the senior schools sports day the congratulations were coming thick and fast from the public address system. At the end of the day the announcer made great strides to congratulate all the participants.

At no time did anyone mention the filthy mess those same participants had made by throwing all their cans, bottles, chip trays, food wrappers and general rubbish on the grass.

At no time did I hear anyone asking that they pick up their rubbish and at no time did I actually see anyone from the schools trying to pick up the rubbish.

I was really angry. This was not just a little bit of rubbish, it was strewn all over the field near the track.

So, headmasters and headmistresses, you should be ashamed of the way your pupils treat one of the nicest beauty sports in the North.

Instead of being proud of the sports prowess, you should teach those children a lesson in common courtesy.

If we do not treat this park with respect it won't be worth visiting in the future.

I will be writing to each school individually to ask for their view and comments.

CAROL SMITH (Mrs), St Silas's Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.