SIR – We have occasionally questioned on this page the continuing takeover of Worcester by the teacher training college, aka the University of Worcester.

The impact of this ever increasing megalomania was brought home to us recently with a sickening thud.

We used to live in the Henwick Road – 249 to be precise. Our father had the bungalow built in the 1950s on land owned by the Jameses.

He, together with Mum, lovingly created a splendid home and a spectacular garden with shrubberies, fruit trees, rockeries and vegetable plot.

You name it, it had it. It was also the resting place of our beloved pets.

Sadly, we had to move in the late 80s but never forgot our first home, always saying hello to our pets whenever we drove past.

Even though we no longer lived there our hearts and memories would always be there.

Whatever made the last owner sell to developers we do not know but sell they did and our lovely family home is now being pulled apart to house students from the college.

It breaks our heart to have to go past and see what they have done to our beloved home.

We know we do not have any grounds to raise formal objections save for the fact it was built by a husband and father who worked so hard with Mum to make it a lovely home.

But we would like to record how sad it is to see one’s home and memories desecrated in such a ruthless way.

The trees have been ripped out, the flowers have been ripped out, the vegetables have been ripped out, Skeet’s kennel has been ripped out, our beloved pets’ remains have been ripped out, our hearts have been ripped out.

It now looks like a barren wasteland.

If all those wreckers wanted to do was build a concrete student ghetto then couldn’t they have bought a piece of wasteland rather than ruin a beautiful, much-loved mature garden which had taken 60 years to create and maintain?

THE JAMES FAMILY
Worcester