AS a local councillor and patron of the Leyland Festival, I was both suprised and disappointed to read County Councillor Tim Farron's comments in your newspaper (Dig deep and pay up, Citizen 20/01/2000).

Leyland Festval is a charitable event organised by the local branch of the round table, raising thousands of pounds every year for local good causes.

South Ribble Borough Council provides Worden Park free of charge, arranges closure of all relevant roads, assists with the siting and removing of bunting, is invovled in the subsequent clean-up afterwards, and liases with the many local agencies involved in a wonderful day. All at no cost to the organisers. County Councillor Farron no longer lives in the area and indeed declined to defend his seat on South Ribble Council at the last election.

Why put at risk the cordial and friendly relationship between the council and the Round Table for the sake of a cheap headline?

Perhaps he ought to concentrate on his efforts as the Liberal's parliamentary candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale and leave the people of South Ribble to look after their own affairs.

We seem to have managed well enough since he left.

Cllr Matthew Tomlinson, Leyland Central

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