SIR - Does the chairman of the Licensed Victuallers' Association, Mike Stevens, honestly believe that if funfairs were banned in Worcester it would mean an end to the rowdy and violent behaviour of which he complains?

The reality is, as the statement from the local police after the incident at the Victorian Fayre confirms, that those involved don't need the excuse of a funfair to perpetrate their loutish acts. Whatever their motivation, drink would appear to play no small a part in their brutish behaviour. Mr Stevens himself concedes this, although the irony of his description of them as 'drunk gangs' seems to have been lost of him. Where did the 'drunk gangs' buy the alcohol? It certainly wasn't at the fair! Perhaps he should ask himself if the trade he represents doesn't bear some responsibility.

And as for his suggestion that the amusements present at the Victorian Fayre were not 'based on family values,' did he actually visit the funfair? Had he have done so he would have found, among a variety of attractions designed to cater for all ages and tastes, such splendid 'old-timers' as the Gallopers, the Cakewalk, the Big Wheel and the Dodgems - not to mention the children's rides. All good, traditional family fare.

Funfairs provide pleasure in a way that few other forms of entertainment can. They are unpretentious in their appeal, combining accessibility with social inclusiveness. It is highly regrettable that a mindless minority should threaten such an age-old, popular pastime.

GRAHAM DOWNIE,

The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain Midland Section.