As usual in such situations the town councillors who have suggested, and indeed those who have backed, ideas for silly parking demonstrations and illegal vandalism over car-parking issues in Ledbury reveal far more than the paucity of their ideas alone.

The depth of their stupidity in opening their mouths in the first place actually comes as little surprise to a lot of us residents.

If we persist with a town council comprising many unelected members whose sole object appears to be to look for the negative response to practically every situation, then we deserve all we don’t get.

We need town councillors who are intelligent, optimistic, creative and communicative.

We need positive responses to the challenges we are currently facing, we need people whose experience and talents have been honed beyond the narrow confines of Ledbury, who have been successful in their chosen areas of work and are able to think ‘outside the box’.

Their priority is to work with and protect our local businesses in every sector, and to remember that our main income is from tourism.

It has been clear for the last few years that more and more responsibility for our local amenities was going to devolve from county council level to town councils, and it is now that it will become apparent whether many of the dinosaurs who like to style themselves ‘councillor’ are really able to meet the new challenges facing this town.

The Ledbury Reporter has done us all a service in exposing the way some of our sitting councillors think, or perhaps ‘don’t think’ would be apposite.

I suggest an immediate call to disband the town council and let us have a freshly elected body of people who can meet the growing needs of this town, rather than damage its reputation by suggesting or condoning behaviour that is either illegal or irresponsible or both.

Mary Baxter

Ledbury