Dear Editor,

A poignant moment indeed when I heard the tragic news of the coach crash at Wheddon Cross, sadly, a precious young life has been lost.

My first visit to Exmoor was as a schoolboy, staying with members of my class at a youth hostel in Porlock. The view from Dunkery Beacon was, and is still, a moving experience. That was in 1959; since when my family and I have grown to love the people and the places, with which and who, we have become friends.

Sixty years on and I am able to enjoy so many memories. Too old now to make journeys of distance, I am able to look back at that panorama, spend time in conversation with old friends, and re-live our shared experiences.

I am sure that this tragic coach crash will generate an appeal for funds, I wish to make a donation; I do not have an email address, and would appreciate your publishing alternative means for me to send on funds.

I take this opportunity to congratulate the new MP for Tiverton and Minehead, Mrs Rachel Gilmore on her activities in her constituency, and to your innumerable reports upon them.

The weekly arrival of my copy of the Free Press keeps me abreast of goings-on in my Exmoor world.

Yours faithfully,

Arthur S Daniels

Studley, Warwickshire

A school is the heart of a community,

Our surrounding villages unite,

When tragedy suddenly strikes,

The people are brave and fight.

The children are everything,

And more than teachers by far,

But super heros with massive hearts,

How real our people are.

Facebook provides a place for sharing comfort, messages of support.

Money is quickly gathered by one and all,

as it leaves everyone deep in thought.

News reporters gather,

Flowers by hundreds are laid,

A little boy we will always remember,

From our hearts and thoughts you will never fade.

Hannah Norman, via email

Dear Editor,

There is much to agree with in Jim Sokol’s analysis of what is wrong with the UK (Postbag, July 18) but I disagree that Nigel Farage is “probably the only politician who cares for this country”!

Farage went to the US, campaigned for the election of Trump and celebrated the MAGA victory. Trump is a convicted felon who was recorded asking the Governor of Georgia to “find him” over 11,000 votes in the 2020 presidential election. Since becoming President he has voted with Russia, North Korea and Belarus in the UN to deny that Russia started the war with Ukraine and this must raise questions about which side he is really on in international relationships. Farage once expressed admiration for the ability of Putin (a mass murderer from his KGB days) to get things done. He also hoped to get financial backing for Reform Ltd (it was a company to start with) from Elon Musk, father of 14 children by various women, some now in legal disputes with him.

In America, addressing a Republican Party event on the subject of Free Speech, Farage said “In my country you can’t say anything or you might get put in prison”. A ludicrous remark...because he isn’t in prison! Two of the six Reform MPs are suspended.

These facts raise very serious questions about Farage’s judgement and his suitability to lead a government. Without him, Reform wouldn’t exist...which suggests it’s more like a cult than a political party.

Yours sincerely,

Sandra Jones

Old Cleeve

The ocean is perhaps the Earth’s greatest asset, yet its critical role in sustaining our planet is often overlooked. As the largest carbon sink, the ocean has been able to store twenty-eight times more carbon than all land vegetation and the atmosphere combined, highlighting how it is an essential resource when reducing greenhouse gas concentrations.

The ocean also captures 90 per cent of excess heat from human activity, mitigating some of the most serious effects of the climate crisis. Without the ocean, the Earth’s maximum temperature would be around 100 degrees (the temperature of boiling water) and the earth’s average surface temperature would be approximately fifty degrees rather than fifteen degrees.

However, the ocean and its ecosystems are under threat. The ocean has become 30 per cent more acidic since 1950, dissolving shellfish shells and disrupting marine food chains. The rapid melting of Arctic ice is weakening critical ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream and is crucially reducing the sea’s ability to store carbon. Alarmingly, scientists warn the ocean could eventually become a carbon source rather than a sink if current emission trends continue.

Protecting this fragile lifeline requires immediate global action: reducing emissions, safeguarding marine habitats, and transitioning away from fossil fuels. The ocean has fed and protected us for millennia-now it’s our turn to return the favour.

May Puckley, via email

The government’s strategy on solar is wrong – and the solar data that we are exposing is disturbing. The pipeline is now massively over target, with an area of farmland the size of Derbyshire set to be covered in solar panels running into hundreds of millions. The more solar capacity we install, the more we depend on an unreliable source of energy.

With hundreds of thousands of acres of UK farmland set to get consent nodded through for a change of use, and many solar developers part of international groups or with international private equity backing, this rural land-grab is controversial and should set alarm bells ringing. We are sleepwalking into a colossal countryside land-take.

Professor Tony Day

Stop Oversized Solar campaign

The image used in last week’s Free Press (July 18) alongside the article headlined ‘Call for inquiry into plans for permanent road closure’ on page 5 should have been credited to Geckoella Ltd. The Free Press is happy to set the record straight.