Letters: Sympathy for plight of flood-hit Cleasby residents

I have been contacting North Yorkshire County Council concerning the same flooding area on Guisborough Road in Great Ayton over the last few years, It is on a corner and adjacent to a cross roads. Three drains regularly flood even after being pressure jetted by a specialist company to no avail twice in a few weeks.

Now also three other drains, the water comes up and flows down the road side. I would suggest that it not the drains but the sewer they drain into is blocked broken, as six drains in the same vicinity only a few yards apart have been causing problems for years.

Some months ago workers fitted a new drain grate right next to an existing one but no water flows down either as the soil verge forces the flow across the carriageway. Some one dug a trench down the verge. This proved the point admirably, but as this drain is one that water comes up due to blockage, the water still flowed across the road, which in winter could see frosts cause a serious accident.

I would have thought that councils have a duty of care for road safety, but North Yorkshire Council seem to put money before safety. Indeed I have seen drains in the village blocked for two years.

C.P.Atkinson, Great Ayton.

Read more: Village's 11-month battle to stop flood deluge every time it rains heavily

Customer service

ON Friday, October 11, I went to the M&S store in Northallerton.

As I entered I felt unwell, so I saw an assistant and told her I did not feel very well and asked if she could show me where the microwave meals were.

She took me to the shelf and even asked which meals I wanted and put them in my basket.Then she asked if there was anything else she could get for me.

In the end she walked round with me and put everything in my basket. Then as I went to the till my basket fell off my stroller so everything fell on the floor. Straight away, Tina came and put everything on the counter, then served me and packed all my shopping in my bag.

She was so kind, helpful and thoughtful to an 86-year-old lady.

Margaret Sanders, Romanby, Northallerton.

Sound advice

FURTHER to Sue Frank’s letter (“Visible sense” – D&S Times, October 11).

I totally agree with Sue’s letter.

There was once a campaign to wear something white at night. That seems to have gone by the wayside, but it seemed to me at the time of that campaign it was sound advice.

I’m appalled at the attitude of some people who don’t seem to care for their own safety today. Wearing dark clothing at night, or dusk makes them almost invisible in unlit areas.

If they were accidentally hit by a vehicle and it went to court to establish who was to blame, and the defendant’s counsel held up the dark garment, their claim could be substantially reduced.

If high visibility clothing was held up, the likelihood of being reimbursed 100 per cent would surely stand a far better chance of the claim being successful.

Some may attempt to sneak past the fact they were wearing high visibility clothing, but in this day and age of mobile phones with inbuilt cameras, the evidence could be irrefutable. The ball, as they say, is well and truly in the dark side’s court.

Michael Anderson, Knottingley.

Concert thanks

A BIG thank you to all who supported the concert on Friday, October 11 in Askrigg Village Hall.

The capacity audience was treated to music given by local choirs and instrumentalists, including three groups of young local musicians, and to humorous poems presented by Eleanor Scarr.

The grand sum of £852 was raised for Village Hall refurbishment funds.

Diana Hartley, Askrigg, Leyburn.

Actions of Israel

IT is widely reported that the Israeli army has violated a United Nations compound in Southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said a Merkava tank had been trying to evacuate injured soldiers and had backed into the Unifil post accidentally However Unifil – the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon – has said that two Israeli tanks destroyed a gate and forcibly entered a base in the south of the country as Israel’s ground operation against Hezbollah moved deeper into Lebanese territory.

I think that of the remarks made, those by the UN peacekeeping mission is more believable and those by Israel, I believe, are the usual political lies.

Always we are told that Israel fires on identified targets. It would be interesting to be told by an independent source how many soldiers were killed in a strike and how many innocent men, women and children were killed in the same strike, surely that would be accurate reporting.

I believe that our government considers that innocent deaths are acceptable so long as British money is not used to kill those civilians.

There are hundreds of members of parliament and it is inconceivable that with all their brains they cannot identify what is wrong here. They glibly repeat parrot fashion that “Hezbollah and Hamas are terrorist organisations” yet say nothing about Israel, to which I must infer they believe behaves impeccably.

Brian Tyldesley, Middleham.

Winning team

I WAS delighted to follow and support the England men’s cricket team’s magnificent performance in Pakistan at the end of last week. After only a few days’ acclimatisation, they outperformed the home side convincingly.

Our team scored 823 for 7 declared, creating innings and partnership records after Pakistan had scored a challenging 556. Our bowlers did a super job in limiting Pakistan to only 152 in their second innings.

To achieve all this in stifling heat of well over 30 degrees is highly creditable and worthy of official recognition by our prime minister.

It contrasts with our football team’s disappointing match against Greece last Thursday evening. I’m glad I watched my club’s epic darts match at the Rolling Mills rather than the football – far more enjoyable.

Malcolm Dunstone, Darlington.

Rothmans reunions

THE Rothmans Pensioners Reunions will take place this year in Darlington and Spennymoor.

In Darlington at Cleveland Club, Neasham Road, Darlington, from 1pm-6pm on Wednesday, November 27. Please contact Ken on 01325 492653 and Liz on 07484 172619.

In Spennymoor at Spennymoor Workingmen’s Club, King Street, from 1pm-6pm on Thursday, November 28, please contact Shelia on 01388 810657.

Contact Giulio on 01325 300942 for either event.

Because of the change of arrangements with BAT this year there will be a small charge of £5 to cover the cost of the buffet etc and organisers would be grateful for any donation on the day towards the raffle.

To confirm attendance, contact the reunion organisers and also to ensure the buffet is adequately covered.

Giulio Pontone, Newton Aycliffe.

Alex Salmond

WHEN I worked as a researcher for two Members of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, I had the opportunity to observe Alex Salmond. He was given every advantage in electoral terms by a series of errors made by Tony Blair. Mr Blair and Gordon Brown allowed the British people to believe they were against the introduction of university fees prior to the 1997 General Election, but after being elected, they introduced them.

They then gave their native Scotland a “get out of jail free card” in the form of the Holyrood Parliament. They then tried to reimpose university fees again on Scotland, so the SNP became a refuge for Scottish student politics.

In a massive protest vote against university fees, the SNP seized control of the Scottish parliament.

Having been elevated to such heights by the incompetence and duplicity of his political opponents, Alex Salmond then demonstrated an equal talent for both, as he threw away every advantage he had been handed.

Nigel Boddy, Darlington.

Life saving campaign

I AM delighted to share the success of St John Ambulance’s 2024 Save a Life September campaign, which has just concluded.

This year, nearly 320,000 people, more than six times our original target, took the opportunity to engage with our campaign in person, online or by requesting a first aid guide. The techniques taught included CPR, how to treat someone who is choking, and how to manage a severe bleed. These vital skills empower people with the ability to save a life in an emergency, making our community safer and more resilient. Looking ahead, readers can now participate in this year’s Restart A Heart initiative, a campaign run in partnership with Resuscitation Council UK.

As with Save a Life September, we are arranging free-to-attend face-to-face and online training sessions around the country to complement the existing first aid advice and videos on our website. During October we will also be focusing more on health inequalities and first aid specific to women. Readers can find out more at www.sja.org.uk/press-centre/campaigns/restart-a-heart-day/.

We encourage everyone to take advantage of these opportunities to learn life-saving skills.

Thank you for your support.

Carl Makins, head of community education, St John Ambulance.

In their defence

I HEAR much criticism of young car drivers, especially males, but in one area I would staunchly defend them.

When I am walking around the town and nothing much is happening, these generous folk will fully wind down their car windows, turn their radio up to the max and invite me to enjoy with their particular taste in music. It will not always be my choice. But no complaints, it’s for the general good.

But a word of advice: do not approach them to thank them for their kindness, for they will not hear you.

Listening to music at that level in such a confined space, they will, sadly, almost certainly be deaf.

Dave Kilvert, Darlington.