YOUR LETTERS

Have your say on rural issues.

I live on the edge of the Peak District. Early one morning I climbed Thorpe Cloud in Dovedale to watch the sun rise. The event itself was spectacular, but the shine was taken off it as a result of all the litter and carnage left by visitors who do not respect the gorgeous surroundings.

There were bags and bags of rubbish, plastic bottles, dirty nappies and disposable BBQs, to name but a few items. The river through Dovedale also contained a huge amount of litter. I was totally disgusted and felt physically sick that people could treat our countryside so appallingly, with no regard whatsoever for the people who live there and work the land.

In Ilam, the next village, people have been blocking the road trying to park, and using the gardens of the villagers as toilets! If an emergency vehicle had needed to get through, there would have been no chance.

It never fails to amaze me that people flock here because it’s so very special and beautiful, yet they’re very happy to leave all their rubbish behind and therefore ruin it for the locals, who are left with the task of clearing up.

If these people who visit don’t know any better, they need to be taught how to respect our precious countryside. Perhaps, therefore, while encouraging people to visit from inner-city areas, you could at the same time teach them how to

take care of the environment. It beggars belief that common sense doesn’t tell them this.

Edwina Oven Ashbourne, Derbyshire