HEROES ALL: AS a footnote to the splendid article by Gavin Havery about Donkey Kirkpatrick, (Echo, May 20) I would mention that he is well honoured by the Fellowship of Service to which I proudly belong.

Branches/messes often take as their title great heroes. Sunderland has Cunningham and Havelock. We in Darlington revere the Bradfords.

South Shields has two very famous mess names - Annand VC and No 312 Kirkpatrick.

Beat that for two valiant men and, by coincidence, Annand's father was killed near where Kirkpatrick was "strolling" with his donkey-stretcher. - AH Newman, Darlington.

BIO FUELS

THE controversial question of more windmills for electricity seems to be stirring up various celebrities, either for or against them.

Why not a mixture of wind farms, sea power, and eventually bio fuels made from corn, rape seed and appropriate saplings?

It would seem we have got to make an effort to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. And at present, nuclear power is surely not the answer. Samples from the Irish Sea must prove that. - FM Atkinson, Shincliffe.

FUN FOR ALL

I AM sure your readers do not want to miss a great day out tomorrow at Masham in North Yorkshire.

The attraction is the first Thornborough Free Festival in support of the unique Thornborough Henges and the challenge the surrounding Neolithic settlement site now faces from the planning application by Tarmac Northern.

Time Watch, the group campaigning to preserve the landscape around the Henges, will be at one of the most eclectic venues of the event as they will run the Time Watch Cafe.

This will be a diverse venue which will mix henges with hilarity as archaeologists and politicians share the same stage as drag artists and comedians.

The Thornborough Free Festival involves a great many simultaneous events throughout the town of Masham. Music fans, children and those appreciative of art and heritage will be particularly well catered for, as well as those who simply want to have fun.

The event is free and includes more than 40 music acts, street performers and artists, children's painting and music workshops spread over seven venues.

So come on Yorkshire, let your hair down and support our heritage. - Elizabeth Barclay, Ripon.

FLY TIPPING

RE the letter from Chris Tunstall, deputy chief executive of Durham County Council (HAS, April 28).

Mr Tunstall dismissed the possibility that the introduction of a permit scheme for non-commercial members of the public using vans or trailers to deposit waste at household waste recycling centres was contributing to an increase in fly-tipping.

He also referred to the introduction by Wear Valley and Teesdale district councils of a charge for bulky waste (old televisions, etc) collections.

I would like to point out that since the permit scheme was introduced there has been an approximately ten per cent increase in fly-tipping in Wear Valley. It is quite probable that the effects of the permit scheme have been exacerbated by Durham County Council's decision to close Browns Houses civic amenity site near Frosterley.

This decision means residents in mid and upper Weardale have return journeys of between 40 and 60 miles in order to dispose of bulky household items.

Evidence supports our view that this, together with the permit scheme, has increased fly-tipping, which is costing Wear Valley District Council because of the extra expense of tidying up the dumped items.

Also, the number of phone calls to Wear Valley District Council for the (free) collection of bulky items has increased by 40 per cent.

With regard to the "charges introduced by district councils for bulky waste collections from households", Wear Valley does not make any charge for such collections and has no plans to do so. - Councillor David Kingston, Chair of Community Services Committee, Wear Valley District Council.

BIRDS OF PREY

YOUR report (Echo, May 27) says the RSPB is sure that birds of prey are declining because they are being shot and poisoned.

While the report does not indicate who the culprits are, there is little doubt that the shooting industry is to blame.

The places where poisoning takes place and the record of past prosecutions indicate that people employed to establish and maintain game shoots are responsible for these illegal acts.

I have no particular wish to spoil the sport of the shooting fraternity but I do want our native birds of prey preserved. Perhaps the only way to be sure of this is to ban the shooting of game birds. - Peter Wilson, Barnard Castle.

QUARRY TRUCKS

I NOTICE that the upgrade of the A1 has been announced and, as part of this, the Masham-Thirsk junction is to close.

I remember earlier this year attending Tarmac's open day at West Tanfield, where Tarmac said that, by closing Nosterfield quarry, something like an additional 1,000 trucks a week would come through the village of Nosterfield from Masham quarry.

Of course, with the closure of this junction, this cannot happen. In fact, once this happens, I'm sure a lot of local people would be interested in hearing which route Tarmac will choose to take their quarry trucks south. My best guess would be through West Tanfield, but they could also go via Wath or Hutton.

Did Tarmac not know that this closure was about to take place, or did they forget to tell locals for fear that the truth would undermine their spin? - Ian Imgram, Brighouse.

ANIMAL WELFARE

Billy Smart's Circus is one of a growing number of circuses to have stopped using animals because of public concern about animal welfare (Echo, May 26).

The Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) campaigns against the use of all animals in circuses as we believe that animals can never be cared for properly when they are subjected to the constant travelling, inadequate housing and dubious training methods that exist in circuses.

A committee of MPs recently called on the Government to ban the use of wild animals in circuses, although groups like CAPS and the RSPCA would like to see a ban on using domestic animals as well.

Concerned members of the public can help animals by boycotting all circuses using animals. Also, they can write to their MP supporting a ban on animal circuses and obtain a free information pack from CAPS on 0845 330 3911 or going to our website www.captiveanimals.org - Craig Redmond, Campaigns Officer, The Captive Animals' Protection Society.

NO SQUASHED BREAD

AS I have retired, I am able to shop with leisure. I also drive so I am able to pick and choose where I go shopping.

I just had to tell you about Sainsburys in Darlington. The staff are really friendly; lots of smiles. They help to pack your shopping properly, no squashed bread. A lovely atmosphere, keep it up. I call it sunny Sainsburys. - D Cooper, Darlington.