Borders unrest

L W Turnbull (“It’s time Scottish Government got a grip on our increasingly lawless society”, Letters, 6 July) writes regularly and at length about the state of Police Scotland.

However, his latest contribution is deeply concerning. It depicts our douce and lovely Border towns, where you can still find a haberdasher, an ironmonger, and ladies’ & gentlemen’s outfitters, as something akin to a Wild West frontier town.

It was with dismay that we learned that people are throwing down litter, cycling on pavements and that at the notoriously riotous Border parades and festivals the police have been under-represented, having failed to take seriously the tendency of the local populace to indulge in unrestrained revelry.

This cannot be allowed to go on. The new Justice Secretary must insist that Police Scotland step in and bring the Scottish Borders back under the full control of the law before the horses are irrevocably frightened.

GILL TURNER

Derby Street, Edinburgh