SIR — With reference to the report in the Free Press (July 13) regarding the Memorial Ground and dog walkers, it is most disappointing the town council, after many months of consultation and deliberation, failed to make any significant changes to the present unsatisfactory situation.

Cllr Mike Whetlor made an eminently sensible proposal to give dog walkers access to the Doniford Road side of the Memorial Ground but his proposal was defeated by the chairman's casting vote.

Perhaps the root cause of this nonsense lies with the Memorial Ground committee. The Memorial Ground was given to the people of Watchet for recreation and enjoyment and not to the football and cricket clubs. The committee collects between £3,000 and £4,000 from these clubs which is passed to the town council.

This unaccountable quango consists of players, past players and associates of both clubs many of whom would no doubt like to see dog walking completely banned from the Memorial Ground. It would be interesting to know how many of the residents whose homes adjoin the ground have been invited to be committee members.

The town council's inexplicable decision to do virtually nothing suggests it is either in thrall to the Memorial Ground committee or hoping the problem will just go away.

According to the report, a final decision has yet to be made in regard to this matter after yet more 'consultation', although who will be consulting whom is not clear, so no-one will be holding their breath for any sort of positive result.

The committee and the town council would be of much greater service to the people of Watchet if they were to apply themselves to dealing with the gangs of teenagers and juveniles who throng the ground in the evenings, especially at weekends.

Very often the areas around the pavilion and cowshed are littered with drinks cans, bottles, broken glass and general detritus after these troublesome youngsters have spent the previous evening drinking, glue sniffing etc and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

Furthermore, the Memorial Ground has become something of a no-go area after dusk and passers-by have been known to be verbally abused and physically assaulted.

Perhaps Cllr Sally de Renzy-Martin and the chairman of the committee might like to take a walk around the Memorial Ground late on a Saturday evening or first thing on a Monday morning so they can see the extent of the problem for themselves.

Bernard Hennighan,

Liddymore Road,

Watchet.