HAVING watched council workmen steam-cleaning Broad Street, Pershore to rid it of chewing gum I thought "what a strange world this is!"

Would the shops and supermarkets of the Vale be upset if the council requested they stop stocking chewing gum or parents stop buying it for their children? To spend thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on endlessly removing a children's sweet from pavements is daft.

We are not talking about putting anyone in the Vale out of business. Selling chewing gum to children at 10p a time is hardly big business. The huge cost of getting rid of it from pavements must far outweigh the small profit made by those shops which sell it. In fact most children would buy some other sweet if gum were not available.

So rather that simply cleaning gum from the streets in a 'Painting The Forth Bridge' mentality why is the council not seeking the co-operation of local shops and supermarkets to solve the problem once and for all? If the firms manufacturing chewing gum cannot make it 'environmentally friendly' to dissolve in a few days then the sooner they are put out of business the better!

A reply from local shopkeepers would be welcomed. Would you be willing to stop stocking gum to keep the streets clean or do you think children's civil rights would be abused?

ANON

Should gum be banned or made more environmentally friendly? You can email a letter to journal@newsquestmid lands.co.uk, fax a letter to 01386 47557 or write to Briar Close Business Park, Evesham.