SIR, - How many more times do I have to write this? Keighley Road is NOT , as some would have you believe, a rough moorland track. The route across Ilkley Moor is A COUNTY ROAD, part of the Queen's Highway.

If you don't believe me contact Mr John Robinson - Highways Officer, at Jacobs Well in Bradford. Parking on single track roads and blocking them to other road users is down right selfish and against the law.

Why are these people walking their animals on such sensitive parts of the South Pennine SSSI? Do they not realise their dogs are running free through areas of ground nesting birds?

Are they so thick and arrogant to think themselves above the law? Or couldn't they care a damn?

It's drivers like these who bring the worst out in country folk. Thanks to you and others like you, folks who use real 4x4s for their work are being penalised. When will these people get it through their thick heads animals are best walked? Not ferried around in gas guzzling so-called 4x4s.

I have no time for the likes of you. NONE! Like the cyclist (reported in last week's Ilkley Gazette) I too have found these people arrogant, ill mannered and threatening. If they acted the same in town the police would have them for dangerous driving.

Respect for the Countryside includes respect for other road users. Why is it so difficult for present day users of both to be more courteous to others?

Until recycling my car, I used Keighley Road weekly over a 20-year period. Even after it was damaged by heavy rain. All, apart from one, were saloon cars large and small.

There was no need for gas guzzling so-called 4x4s. Instead of wasting money on city centre duck ponds, Keighley Road should be resurfaced in a manner befitting a County Road.

Frazer Irwin - Queen's Road,Ilkley.

Epidemic of 4X4s

SIR, - I read with interest the article about the biker complaining about vehicles churning up Ilkley Moor and have every sympathy with him.

Just what is it with Ilkley and 4X4s? Almost every third vehicle seems to be a 4X4 - is it some kind of epidemic?

On the moors, on the school run and in supermarket car parks - they are everywhere. And in too many cases they seem to be driven by people who think they can force their way past other drivers, push into queueing traffic and generally behave in an abnoxious and arrogant manner.

The 4X4s also seem to be getting larger. Is it all part of keeping ahead of the Jones's - my 4X4 is bigger than yours'?

Why do they seem to be such status symbols? How many families need an off=road vehicle, which in many cases is heavy on fuel? One can understand people like farmers needing their Land Rovers, but for just running about town is such a waste.

I wouldn't mind quite so much if some of the people behind the wheel could drive these vehicles. Half of them don't seem to have any idea where the nearside of the 4X4 is and often are over the centre line of narrow roads. Then it's goodbye wing mirror.

Let's leave 4X4s to those who really need them and forget about keeping up with the Jones's.

MOOR VISITOR - Name and address supplied.

Run for the foundation

SIR, - All ballot places have now been allocated for this year's Great North Run on 30 September but national charity Meningitis Research Foundation is giving any runners who missed out the chance to snap up one of their guaranteed places.

By running for the foundation you'll be giving us a helping hand in fighting meningitis and septicaemia - devastating diseases which still affect thousands of people every year and can kill in hours.

Any runners lucky enough to get an independent entry place are also welcome, as we'd love you to join our growing team. To get involved, simply call our fundraising team on 01454 281814 or email fundraising@meningitis.org. We'll send you everything you need to get started and will even be there to cheer you along on the day!

Gemma Gibbs - Communications Officer, Meningitis Research Foundation.

Volunteers are needed

SIR, -The Airedale Panel is one of the network of panels forming the national charity Remap. The service we provide is to supply, free of charge, custom designed and made items that can assist anyone who has any form of difficulty performing everyday tasks, as long as a similar item cannot be obtained elsewhere.

Further information about Remap can be viewed on the website www.remap.org.uk.

The Airedale Panel works in conjunction with the Occupational Therapy Department, the Child Development Centre, and physiotherapists at Airedale General Hospital and also with Social Services offices within the Airedale NHS catchment area. In a typical referral, the volunteer panel member, accompanied by one of the medical staff, visits the client to discuss the problem and possible solutions. The panel member then designs and makes a piece of equipment that will alleviate the client's problem.

Other panel members may assist if required and it is often necessary to have some work done by engineering workshops. All expenses incurred in the manufacture can be reclaimed but the volunteer's time is given freely.

The ideal volunteer being sought could be a newly retired engineer or other, possibly younger, person who is able to occasionally take a few hours off from their normal duties to attend client visits or other meetings. Persons who think they may be able to provide assistance in a capacity not involving design and manufacture, including disabled people, are welcome.

Any person interested in this type of work should contact the Panel Chairman, Arthur Atkinson, on (01943) 830549 or alternatively, the Panel Secretary, Dawn Osborne at Airedale General Hospital telephone number (01535) 292226.

Arthur Atkinson - Church Street, Addingham.