I WISH to express an immense debt of gratitude to Fiona Evans, who has pioneered and driven the Yearsley Action Group and also worked so successfully with the Barbican Action Group to 'Save Our Swim'.

Many, many thanks to all my fellow workers, too numerous to mention by name, who joined Fiona in her selfless campaign. Thank you for all the cheering support we received from the citizens of York. It makes standing in the cold of January and February collecting the 26,600 signatures for our petition and attending many meetings seem all worthwhile.

If keeping the pools open and hopefully maintained does take £7 million as predicted, what price would you put on the life of one person taught how to swim? If £7 million just saves one life, isn't it worth all that and more?

Sincere thanks to the Evening Press for making our voices heard.

In conclusion, I would like to tell you about Fiona. She is a highly intelligent woman who is a stickler for the truth and an indefatigable campaigner for human rights, especially for the underprivileged and hurting. I cannot even guess what starting and leading Yearsley Action Group has cost her in time, money, effort and talent, but she has earned my undying respect.

Marie A Newby,

Ashley Park Road,

Stockton Lane, York.

...NOW the hysteria over the possible swimming pool closures and the council's abject capitulation is behind us, let's get down to a little economic realism.

The problem arose from a massive hole in the council budget and the council itself revealed one of the several reasons for this shortfall in the notes which accompanied its survey.

It seems that the National Audit Office noted that in York each visit made to any of the council leisure facilities was subsidised to the tune of £1.95, whereas the national average amounted to eight pence per visit.

How on earth was this allowed to happen in a local authority which appears to pride itself on its prudence and what is the council doing to rectify the situation?

Frankly I am disgusted with both the Labour and Liberal Democrats on the council for being so pathetically desirous of being seen to be the voters' friend, when what was called for was a straight economic decision to either privatise the two pools in question or close them down: certainly not to spend even more money on their update.

Surely the lesson learned time and time again is that a failure in courage when unpopular financial decisions are needed is always followed by even more unpopular repercussions, for example a rise in council taxes.

I am not opposed to subsidies as such, far from it, but I do not recognise any moral imperative which calls for me or anyone else to subsidise other people's pleasure which the majority of leisure activities most certainly are.

D J Spink,

Ryecroft Avenue, York.