SIR — I suspect every charity, charity worker and event organiser in West Somerset welcomed Meg Sunningdale and Peter Conrad's excellent letter published in the Free Press on June 4 concerning the removal of event advertising from the roadsides.

I among mostly retired members of St John Ambulance assist at the regular sales held at their Headquarters in North Road, Minehead. We too have witnessed the catastrophic effect of the recent enforcement of this law banning roadside advertising.

Without exaggeration, we have experienced more than a 60 per cent drop in the number of people coming through our doors and that is despite a banner being displayed along the main thoroughfares of Minehead four times a day and a few A4 posters kindly displayed by sympathetic shops etc.

Money raised at these sales has supported the 80plus year old Minehead Division since its formation and in addition more recently St John Ambulance, Malta. It has funded equipment varying from bandages and ambulances to the Headquarters itself.

Throughout its existence, the volunteer members of the Minehead Division have freely given their services to events in Minehead and the surrounding district. Health and safety demands first aid facilities at most organised events so what happens to local sporting events if the local St John Ambulance Division folds?

Being off the beaten track, the visiting public are unable to find us when our sale signs are no longer displayed on The Avenue at the North Road junction and by the Job Centre.

Very, very few holiday visitors have found us since the ban and many of our regular local customers have complained about the lack of advertising.

Obviously in rural areas the same principles apply.

Just how does one communicate with the travelling public when roadside signs are banned? How can it possibly be safer for a driver to attempt to read a sign 25 or 50 metres out in the middle of a roadside field rather than at the grass verge?

It is now very apparent that this rule, be it bye law, West Somerset law, county law or national law, has not been thought through. Every fundraising event for charity or other cause is going to suffer financially.

What happens, for instance, if because of the ban, the income of such vital charities as the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, the Devon Air Ambulance, the rescue services or the RNLI suddenly drops by 10, 20 or 50 per cent.

The West Somerset Council Your Guide 2010-2011 states "We deal with unauthorised or illegal fly posting on council property and street furniture" surely this infers that authority can be obtained.

Roadside signs can be costly and are owned property, a point seemingly overlooked by this "dealing".

Such signs may be damaged during removal and as no attempt is made to notify the owners surely this "dealing" amounts to nothing short of theft and possible vandalism.

In the very same guide, the Somerset Waste Partnership, in total contrast, positively encourages re-cycling via charities, car boot and jumble sales. Isn't that precisely what most fundraising events have been doing for generations?

Perhaps this rule even infringes our human right of communication.

Meg and Peter are absolutely right to urge all charity and event organisers to protest to their political representatives.

Duncan Stafford,

Doniford Road,

West Quantoxhead.