"DIRTY old town put to shame" (Malvern Gazette, January 19). Brenda Jacob, from Washington DC, deserves our thanks for bringing to the attention of Mr Sobczyk of MHDC, the amount of rubbish which for several months now has littered Avenue Road. It has been a disgrace to the town, particularly since it is the main entry to the town from the station.

In addition to the problem of litter on the footpath and in the gutter, there is rubbish which is dumped over the low wall at the side of the bridge. There is a rubbish bin in Avenue Road, by the newsagents, but it was vandalised some time ago and although unusable is an eyesore. In recent months the glass panels in the phone kiosk have been smashed by vandals several times and these have been quickly replaced, by we presume, British Telecom, but how much longer will they put up with this before removing the phone altogether?

Mr & Mrs R Atkins, Manby Road, Malvern