Town no longer welcoming

SOUTHPORT has always had a wonderful reputation for shopping, dining, a fantastic annual flower show, host to the Open Golf every 10 years or so and now gaining note for a very well organised food festival.

What a pity the appearance of the town is no longer welcoming and vibrant.

The Scarisbrick Hotel has a row of dirty, ragged flags flying over the entrance.

The public planting in the town is dreadful, Churchtown roundabout is a disgrace, the Plough roundabout is pathetic... I could go on.

These features are the first things that visitors to the town see when they come by road.

They should be well cared for and well planted, instead Southport appears to be shrouded in faded grandeur with no civic pride.

Get your act together, Southport, and make the town inviting, make it a place where people want to stay, want to spend money and show them some respect.

Many towns with a similar history to Southport have worked hard through the recession and are now thriving again. Lytham is one example. Southport has, instead, given up. A former resident and regular visitor

FIRE SAFETY FIRST

FOLLOWING the London tower block fire, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is reassuring residents who live in high-rise accommodation about safety.

The added problem is that television and films give a distorted view of fire, which, in reality, is different and unpredictable.

Having a bonfire in your garden is therapeutic, with all the fumes going up in the sky as the wood crackles.

Inside, this silent killer spreads and gives off toxic fumes from the many plastics in our buildings.

Wherever you work, find out about fire safety. This should be in your induction training. If not, ask.

Any organisation will be happy to help you, even if you are at a leisure centre, shopping complex or a flower show.

Nothing is as precious as your life. BJ Powell Southport

THANKS FOR SUPPORT

THROUGH your paper, may I thank the residents and shoppers for a tremendous response to the street collection in Southport for Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team on June 10.

The collection raised a total of £200.08.

This money will go towards equipment renewals at our South Preston vehicle base, essential for keeping a secure operational response for south and west of our area.

In recent years, as well as our more usual hill and fell rescue activity, we have had several calls to assist people who have got into difficulties in the West Lancashire lowlands and salt marsh edges.

We receive no statutory funding for this service, so anything we receive is hugely appreciated and we are, therefore, grateful for the opportunity to thank all those who have supported us.

The money raised from the collection enables us to continue to help others who get into difficulties in our wilder and more remote areas. Clive Shelley Treasurer, BPMRT

THEATRE ETIQUETTE

MANY times my friends and I attend the local theatre to enjoy a show.

The Blood Brothers and Tina Turner tributes have been two of our favourites.

Recently, our enjoyment of an Elvis Tribute night was totally ruined by the behaviour of some of the audience.

They arrived 40 minutes late, disturbing everyone with their arrival.

Chatting to them during the interval I discovered they were late because they “had to” finish their