I WISH to respond to letters published in the Evening Press on August 31.

The first one, from Andrew Tessier, was headlined "Use road sense".

While I agree pedestrians should look out for road users for their own safety, it should be appreciated that humans and animals were free to walk when and where they wished for thousands of years before the invention of the wheel eroded their freedoms.

Nevertheless, cyclists and motorists still do not have the right to run over any pedestrians, whatever they are doing.

It is the rider/driver's duty to avoid all other road users hence the imposition of speed limits in populated areas. This is supposed to give drivers more time to see, and avoid, obstacles.

The second letter was PR Willey's "Bad Bargain gusher".

I reported a leak outside a neighbour's a week before the repairs team arrived. It resulted in a large lake being created and a further leak occurred which took another week before it was repaired then another week or more to follow up with new infill material.

That which had been dug out was to be taken away as waste and landfill.

EL Thompson,

Pond Farm,

Crambe,

York.

Updated: 11:06 Tuesday, September 07, 2004