MY wife, who is a wheelchair user, has the dubious honour of owning a disabled driver's orange badge. But it is my firm belief that Hyndburn has some of the fittest orange badge owners in the country.

Try parking at Accrington's Asda store, where there is a good number of disabled places.

You can normally count three or four taken up by non-badge holders, usually people in their late teens or early twenties.

It's no joke having to push a wheelchair in the pouring rain, while these miscreants continually abuse the system.

I suggest they put a sticky notice on the windscreen saying: "I apologise for taking this space up, but I didn't feel like walking."

As for Accrington town centre, spot the cars with just an orange 'clock-timer' on show. And how nonsensical it is to have two traffic wardens walking the same beat, when it means only half the distance is covered.

I think we should copy an idea that was a success in New Zealand. There, councillors were required to be in a wheelchair for a week - the unfit ones were pushed; the fit ones propelled themselves.

After that one week, the improvements for wheelchair users were very noticeable.

I also suggest knocking down the two conker trees in front of Accrington Market Hall, when there would be room for at least 30 wheelchair-only car spaces.

FRANCIS CROSS, Royds Street, Accrington.

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