EVERY newspaper carried stories when the ban on air travel came in. TV screens have shown us the weary faces of travellers returning to Britain with their crumpled clothes and empty wallets.

They have told both tales of great kindness extended to them and also of greedy exploitation of their situation.

But there are other worse off victims. Exploited workers in Kenya who grow roses and baby vegetables have lost their jobs. Wealthy plantation owners claim to have lost millions. The low- paid workers have lost their very livelihoods and may face turning to crime and prostitution in order to feed their families.

Recently a British government minister, seeing no need for the UK to be self-sufficient in food, praised the way in which UK supermarkets were stocked from all over the globe. I hope he has had second thoughts now that he has seen what only six days without planes did to our food trade.

Importing air freight foods from the developing world, using land and workers’ time to produce luxuries is not sustainable. There are better uses for land than growing flowers which will be thrown out in a few days, however much pleasure they give their.

Previous volcanic eruptions have caused famines. We have no idea how long the Icelandic volcano will continue to erupt or whether the dust clouds will thicken.

The recent events should serve as a warning. Air travel with its large carbon footprint is not sustainable. It isn’t necessary to fly abroad two or three times a year for holidays. Food security means food grown nearby and easily transported – for both ourselves and Kenyans.

AVRIL HESSEN, Sycamore Avenue, Burnley.