MADAM, on reading about the recent fire on Bromyard Downs, it just shows how dangerous the common is wihtout the periodical cutting back of the undergrowth. At sometime, somewhere a fire will start, and some property could get burnt down, we all hope that this will not happen.

I wonder when the management committee decided to let the bottom side of the top hard road go to waste land, with only some fire breaks?

Have the management thought how, if a fire started on the banks above Linton Villas, with a westerly wind, the fire would go towards Brockhampton School, and get into the conifers around the playing field. Children could be out playing there, as the undergrowth is right up to the roadside where cars are parked. The people who use, and enjoy the common, mostly dog owners, receive little consideration.

I cannot see any reason why the dogs should be kept on leads. The expense of putting up signs, and taking them down again, all adds cost to the council tax payer, also the cost of the 40 fireman, plus the tenders that were used to put out the fire on the Malvern road side of the A44.

If the management committee is looking for a solution to stop fires, it is simple, just cut the fern and undergrowth.

If the roadsides were cleared of undergrowth, the roads would be safer for drivers and animals. The area over by Park Head is nearly completely covered with gorse, another fire hazard.

The Jubilee Oaks planted in 1887 for Queen Victoria's Jubilee suffered a lot of damage in last October's gales, because these trees are part of the history of Bromyard, a few pounds spent on a tree surgeon would not go amiss, to bring these trees back into a condition the people of Bromyard could be proud of for many years to come.

J A Lane,

Winslow,

Bromyard