THE bleeper kicks into loud insistent life, lunch three-quarters eaten - lucky this time! My younger fireman son pelts from the table out into the wet farmland to hurtle to the fire station in Upton four miles away, creating mutterings from other normal people in their cars doing normal Christmassy things, completely oblivious as to why this handsome, mop-haired young man of 27 should be in so much of a hurry.

And he must have had to go out on a "shout" because if he and his brother don't return in ten minutes or so to finish their, by now cold food, then they are off with the other Upton-upon-Severn firefighters to who knows what calamity.

This goes on day in day out, every day, every hour, 365 days of the year, and we in Upton have the most wonderful team of 16 or so dedicated firefighters, some of whom have put in many, many years of on call service.

They are a highly competent crew, fully trained but bringing man-added skills from their own walks of life, and this team has been lead for as many years as I can remember by Dave Walker. We allow him to go at our peril, literally.

We must look to his superiors for an answer as to what they have failed to do, to force his hand to resign - no momentary loss of temper surely, but more a very long fuse finally exploding. The expression, no one is indispensable, comes to mind. But for the care in the Upton community Mr Walker has consistently displayed, I would say that someone, somewhere at the sharp end of a fire, car accident or boy with his head stuck in a pan, will say in exasperation, 'where on Earth is Dave Walker?'

As the mother of two of Upton's firefighters, I hope the people of Upton will reply with me: 'Where he should be - with his team.'

JUDITH LEEKE, Longdon.