I am writing as Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow Trust Children's Charity, a national charity that has been providing support for over 20 years to families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness.

We have received a number of calls from members of the public concerned about a leaflet that has come through their doors asking them for their unwanted household goods and clothes.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind Echo readers that the company issuing these leaflets, Children's Rainbow Trust Limited is not connected whatsoever with Rainbow Trust Children's Charity.

Children's Rainbow Trust Limited is in fact a company and not a registered charity. It has agreed to change its name to avoid further any confusion.

Anyone wishing to support Rainbow Trust or needing our help, can find out by calling us on 01372 363438.
Heather Wood,
Chief Executive,
Rainbow Trust Children's Charity

It's a nightmare
LIVING in Prince's Avenue on airshow day is a nightmare.

Apart from getting knocked up by obnoxious police on motorbikes at 9am on a Sunday morning to get your car off the road outside your own house, we have to put up with the constant stream of buses driving up the street with passengers staring in your window, the thumping noise of the fairground, the litter, especially fish and chip cartons and plastic pop bottles being hurled in your garden.

Why can't we have our street closed like the rest of the streets down here?

I'm not against the airshow. It's great for the city but it's bad enough our street being used as a rat run the rest of the year. Aren't we even entitled to a rate rebate for putting up with it? I'm sure most residents would agree but I somehow don't think our council would.
Resident

Clear pavements
APPARENTLY there are to be changes to the parking regulations. There has been a mention of a fine for parking more than 50cm from the edge of the kerb.

Will this reguation apply for vehicles that park more than 50cm onto a pavement? Could any readers inform us about that?

The council has an obligation to maintain our pavements. Allowing vehicles to park on the pavements means that the paving slabs are more likely to be broken sooner. This is evident in several areas where on-pavement parking is common.

The council has an obligation to keep pavements clear for pedestrians, especially those with disabilties and parents pushing children in prams. Is the council being negligent by tolerating the blockage of pavements? Could any reader explain what is the legal situation when a pedestrian has an accident as a result of problems with the pavement being blocked?

Would the responsibilty lie with the driver who blocks the pavement or the council who tolerates the pavements being parked upon?

If it is possible to fine those who park irresponsibly on pavements, then there may be a way to reclaim the pedestrians' right of way.
A Lennox,
Millfield,
Sunderland

Plenty of wildlife
I READ with disgust the remarks Russell Forster made (Echo, July 29), after being granted permission for the 20 football pitches.

His nonchalant remarks breathed of contempt for the TWAG and resident supporters.

To quote: "There are no crested newts and no red squirrels!" as he had spent quite a considerable sum, having enviromental experts look into the area.

His so-called experts must have missed the other wildlife that is and has moved into this area of woodland and will now be chased by his plans.

As a bird watcher this area of woodland and fields are frequented by some of our protected bird species.

There are a pair of barn owls and tawny owls that patrol the fields,looking for a meal (voles and mice), there have been sightings of long-tailed tits, red starts,spotted fly catcher (migrants), coal tits, grey partridge (in decline) and pheasant, thrushes, blackbirds, hedge sparrows, yellow hammers, linnets, which are all in decline due to loss of habitat,to name just a few.

So how did his "experts" miss these?

Once again our Labour council has pushed aside the concerns of local residents in favour of something they do not want!
Bird Watcher

Show compassion
GOOD luck if a permanent gipsy camp was to settle on Wearside. The right thing to do would be to show a bit of human commpassion to these folks who choose to live on the road. They need acceces to education and medical treatment like everyone else. It is shocking how some folk are so cruel at times and refuse to give a bit of support and allow somewhere for these travellers to go with their fmilies. Live and let live in peace?

On transport, recent news has to be the best news our city has had for a long time. We are one step closer and getting £98million to fund our new Wear bridge. This will be a major bost for our city stategic transport corridor. Also to add icing to our local economy's cake the Metro transport system is to get £300millon for much-needed improvements.
Peter Kerr,
Fulwell,
Sunderland

Two litter bags are better than one
I WOULD like to thank everyone who took part in the litter pick at Tunstall Hills on Saturday, July 26. While the crowds attending the airshow at Seaburn were disappointed by the sea fret, we enjoyed glorious sunshine all morning.

As readers may recall from my previous letters to this page, part of the reason for the litter pick taking place was to "prove" a system of collecting litter using two refuse bags in one hand with plastic "collars" attached making it easier for the bags to receive the litter, one bag for rubbish, one bag for plastic bottles/drinks cans, which of course should be recycled as stated on the Council's "Just Bin It" campaign information sheet.

I can report that this system was a complete success allowing me to easily separate the litter into these parts: 20 bags of rubbish, eight bags of plastic bottles, six bags of aluminium cans, three bags of steel cans, and three bags of glass bottles.

This information has been passed to the council and I am hopeful that it will find it feasible for its own street cleaners to employ this method, (the recyclable bags being placed into the existing skips for plastic bottles/cans).

In September a national campaign is taking place "The Big Tidy Up" organized by Encams who run the "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign. If any groups taking part would like more information on this system I can be contacted by e-mail at: a.r1@me.com
Allan Rowell,
Wearside Friends of the Earth

Repugnant rubbish
TORY Edmund Burke's inferior political debate (Echo, July 24), is well known to Letters' Page readers and he continues to be a poor advertisement for the learning skills of the university with his embarrassing bog-standard attempt at satire.

In his own little world of make-believe our Edmund implausibly cast two Labour supporters plus myself in the role of Curly, Larry and Mo . Ha, ha, ha, what infantile fun, our Tory Burke probably thought.

He failed to realise however that successful satire is based on facts related to the victim, and not the self-opinionated blabberings of Tory Edmund. For example, Edmund could take over any of the three roles he mentioned on the strength of his previous statement, that socialism was built on a rock of tolerance! This was a howler of huge proportions by our Edmond, because even Tories of low intellect know that the definition of the word tolerance is the ability to accept things one dislikes and disagrees with.

He should have known that politics is all about disagreeing vehemently with what one dislikes in an effort to change it. My advice to our Edmund is concentrate more on the facts of the matter and less on repugnant rubbish.
W Quinn,
Sunderland

Write again please
I THANK the lady who replied to my letter about the Sunderland School Choir. She sent me a beautiful postcard of the river and details of the choir. It was lovely to hear from her and I was thrilled with the card.

Unfortunatly, she didn't put her name and address on it so I can't write to thank her. I would love to hear from her again. If she reads this I'm hoping she will write to me again with her address. Regards to all my family and friends.

I hope all the gang from Hendon School have a wonderful reunion in September. I wish I could be there.
Ann Hansen (nee Pike),
1/24 Casuarina Drive, Banora Point, NSW 2486
Email: annmackem@optusnet.com.au
Telephone: 0755248486

MARGARET and Eddie would like to thank family and friends for their donations to St Benedict's Hospice in lieu of presents for their Golden Wedding Anniversary and also for the lovely cards which we received.
Margaret and Eddie Langley,
Pembroke Court,
Hylton Lane,
Sunderland

SORRY to read, but not surprised, that developer got his way at Newbottle to destroy a growing forest. Many people fought long and hard to save this wildlife habitat – but to no avail!
CA Wake,
Sunderland

I READ of £1.6bn to be spent building an incinerator in Sunderland. My memory is not what it was but did we not have one of these in Trimdon Street years ago? It was knocked down – now we want another – for how long this time?
JA Stott,
Wear View,
Hunwick,
Co Durham

ANYONE know why Sunderland is part of Tyne and Wear instead of being in County Durham? Unless there is an unknown reason, I suggest that you forget Tyne and Wear and revert to County Durham.
Robert Dunn
Alexandria,
Virginia,
USA