Letters

My property backs onto the site and many of us enjoy the tranquillity and beauty of the wildlife which is taking over the area.

Unfortunately, some residents are not so considerate.

Recently, some residents in Sidewood Road dumped a large amount of household rubbish in the field.

It is both very unsightly and unhealthy for the environment.

This action undermines our attempts to stop the developments and sends completely the wrong signal to the owners who will use it as evidence to show the residents don't care about their environment.

These people should be made to clear up this mess and pay for it's proper disposal, just like everyone else has to.

It is hypocritical for these same residents to complain about the mess left by gipsies near by, when they dump this rubbish behind their fences.

Name and

address supplied

The Tories' lesson plan - I was concerned to read the letter by the leader of Greenwich Council, Councillor Chris Roberts, scoring political points (Letters, April 9).

He talks nonsense when he accuses the Conservatives of having plans for big cuts in education.

The Conservative Party is committed to trusting headteachers, teachers, governors and parents to know what is best for their schools.

We would stop bombarding schools with useless pieces of paper from Whitehall and allow teachers to teach.

Cllr Roberts may be trying to cover up the fact there has been no clear improvement as a result of the Labour Government or, in Greenwich, the Labour council's policies.

The average five per cent increase in spending he talks about will be more than eaten up this year by increased pension costs and National Insurance rises for schools imposed by the Labour Government.

Despite Labour's pledge to invest heavily in education, schools are facing deficits of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

That is not a record the Labour Government or Labour controlled Greenwich Council can be proud of.

Damian Green

Conservative shadow education secretary

Research helps us to live - Jan Yarker (Letters, March 5) is presumably healthy and can, therefore, afford to be against the use of animals in medical research.

But what about the millions of us whose lives depend upon prescription drugs? Or those of us who need medical research to continue? Don't we deserve something better than her emotional propaganda?

The fact is, all modern prescription medicines are developed and tested with the help of animal studies.

And I am not simply talking of the legally required animal testing before human clinical trials. I am referring to the research and development conducted in the drug discovery stage.

Where there is no legal requirement to use animals, they are used, because it is the only way to find out what happens in a living body.

Seriously Ill for Medical Research (SIMR) is a patients' group which supports the humane use of animals, where necessary, in medical research.

Members suffer from illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and asthma. We support research aimed at improving our health.

If anybody wants further information, write to SIMR, PO Box 504, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5WS, or go to http://www.simr.org.uk

Thomas Bromley

SIMR executive secretary

Mental illness can affect any one of us - I feel I must respond to your report on the tragic story of a mother who, suffering from delusions due to schizophrenia, killed her own baby (News Shopper, April 16).

These tragic incidents, although rare, receive a great deal of press coverage and, as a result, encourage a false public belief mental illness and violence are inevitably linked.

Regrettably, this belief creates a terrible climate of stigma and discrimination for the 630,000 people who are today in contact with mental health services, while just trying to get on with their normal lives.

The fact is mental disorder can affect anyone. More than 2.9 million people in the UK are diagnosed as having depression at any one time.

About one in 100 adults will suffer from manic depression at some point in their life.

The figure is the same for people with schizophrenia.

Around one in six people who experience severe depression eventually commit suicide, while it is estimated one in 10 people with schizophrenia take their own life.

There are occasions when mentally ill people experience a crisis and commit an act of violence. Each is a tragedy, and it is right to seek solutions to why it happened, and to try to prevent them in the future.

But it is vital people understand better the reality of living with a mental illness, including the pressure it puts on carers, friends and family.

What we need is less stigma attached to mental illness and more resources to support people who experience it.

Simon Lawton-Smith

Head of Public Affairs Maca (Mental After Care Association)

ELTHAM'S SHOPPED OUT: My husband and I have lived in Eltham Park for the last 37 years. In our view, the deterioration in the borough has been caused by Greenwich Council's lack of pride in it. For example if the shopping mall proposed for Eltham High Street in the late 70s had been carried out before Bromley Council built the Glades, this would have brought much needed prosperity to the borough at the time. Bromley Council proceeded with the Glades, Bexley Council proceeded with its shopping mall which left Eltham High Street isolated. All the residents now shop in Bromley and Bexleyheath. We think this is the biggest single reason why Eltham has deteriorated so badly. The only media coverage of the area has been the long drawn-out Lawrence saga. If we could afford it we would be out of here tomorrow.

Mrs R Lory, Eltham Park

HOMES SWEET HOMES: John Prescott's sudden discovery that government land in London which is currently unused could provide 80,000 affordable homes, shows the chaos at the heart of this Government's housing policy. It has taken Mr Prescott seven years to realise one very real answer to the capital's housing crisis is literally under his nose we should use vacant government land to build new, affordable homes. His plan to now put together a register of unused property is frankly too little, too late. London does not need yet another register, plan or strategy we're already awash with those, not least from the Mayor of London. What we need is action.

Robert Neill

Conservative chairman of London Assembly planning committee

WAR ON WANT: Whatever our views on the Iraqi war, our servicemen and women have done their duty. Their loved ones at home also need to be remembered in our thoughts and prayers. One way we can help is to send money to the Sailors' Soldiers' and Airmen's Families Association, Forces Help, at Room F16, Victoria House, Shooters Hill Road, London SE18. Don't forget to Gift Aid your gift that way for every £1 you give, Gordon Brown gives 28p!

Alan Scutt, Bexleyheath

CHEATS GOT BEAT: Whichever way Ms Bradman looks at it, those three people on the Who Wants to be a Millionaire TV show were out to cheat, and if they had got away with it, they would have been sitting pretty for a long time. I don't have any sympathy with them and you should not condone it.

Mary Challand

Mottingham

April 29, 2003 10:30