IT has come to light that certain residents of Severnside North are constantly telephoning the police, lobbying the town council and petitioning local traders in an attempt to enforce a ban on the parking of motorcycles there.

I have it on good authority from West Mercia Constabulary personnel that the complaints may not be of a high enough priority to be actioned, although I have had sight of a letter intimating that this is no longer the case.

By continuing these calls they are wasting already limited police resources.

It is debatable whether the motorcycles are parked in a prohibited or restricted area if they are behind the yellow lines.

The motorcycles are a traditional part of the river front and have been since the middle of the last century.

The vast majority of them are professional people, of both sexes, encompassing a wide age range and who enjoy visiting our pretty town and spending some of their leisure budget with our local traders.

They are not a form of "low life" hell-bent on destruction! Indeed, they may well put more money into the local economy than some of the residents!

It is noticeable that a recent communication from a collection of residents of Severnside North inviting those of Severnside South to a meeting offering them the opportunity to voice an opinion ended with the unfortunate phraseology "... and if there is anything else you would like to complain about. ..."

Surely a more appropriate line could have been "... and if there is any other subject you would like to raise with regard to the continuing improvement of our immediate locality..."

Let us hope these caring residents never require the services of the County Air Ambulance, for which many of these very motorcyclists have raised large sums of money, or those of our seriously under-funded police force.

SIMON EDWARDS

Severnside South, Bewdley