I REFER to my previous letter suggesting the draining of the canal or, at least, the reduction of its depth to no more than two feet.

I shouldn't have to explain the meaning of my letter but there's an obvious need because some people require a more simple interpretation.

I was making a subtle comparison between Hyndburn and Blackburn with Darwen Councils' pathetic 'knee-jerk' reaction to stop road traffic accidents by closing and obstructing our highways, and the suggestion that they now go the whole way and complete the nonsense by draining the canal in order to stop more accidents and prevent a minority of other people, like swimmers in the canal, from either getting into difficulty or drowning in it.

This is stupid of course, but what is the difference between that and the established basic Hyndburn and Blackburn with Darwen council's attitude towards road safety?

They are doing nothing to address the real problem and are only reducing the general standard of living for all as well as severely disrupting vital transportation needs.

All because of the behaviour of reckless people and idiots - who are still out there, undeterred, to carry on in less space! A few people have apparently failed to comprehend my use of irony as a means of getting my basic point across regarding the mis-use of traffic calming.

Surely the use of irony in the written word is still a legitimate form of expression and only requires a little extra thought by the reader to discover its nuances.

ADRIAN SHURMER, Lyndon Avenue, Great Harwood.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.