IT'S fair to say Mary Horner has been a thorn in the side of the Environment Agency and Castle Cement for many years.

For about a decade she has closely monitored what happens at the Ribblesdale Works near Clitheroe and deluged the company and agency with complaints alleging smells, dust and air pollution in the area.

It is probably no exaggeration to say that both consider the shepherdess a pest because of the administrative time that has had to be devoted to dealing with her protests.

But Mary has taken a close interest in the place for the simple reason that she is a next-door neighbour and has had sheep grazing close to the controversial plant.

And which of us wouldn't do the same in her position?

That's why it is not acceptable for a body like the Environment Agency, which exists to protect the public on pollution matters, to arbitrarily decide that they will no longer respond to complaints from Mary or her family.

As MP Nigel Evans says, the agency is a government body with a duty to respond to everyone who contacts them. It cannot "just pick and choose".

By achieving national and international hearings for complaints about Castle Cement that officials considered unfair, Mary Horner may well have caused extreme annoyance.

But that is no reason to refuse to listen to her.