Reading about the recent fire on Bromyard Downs (Malvern Gazette & Ledbury Reporter, April 25) just shows how dangerous the common is by not periodically cutting back the undergrowth.

I wonder if, when the management committee decided to let the bottom side of the top road just go to waste land with only some fire breaks, it realised the fire hazard created. Have they thought if a fire started on the banks above Linton Villas, with a westerly wind the fire would go towards Brockhampton School?

The people who use and enjoy the common, mostly dog owners, receive little consideration. I cannot see any reason why dogs should be kept on leads as there are no stock on the common. The expense of putting up signs and taking them down again all adds cost to the Council Tax-payer.

If the management committee is looking for a solution to stop fires, it is simple, just cut the fern and undergrowth. At sometime in the future the common will have to be managed by mechanical management why not start now. Modern sprays will take out 90 per cent of the fern. If the roadsides were cleared of undergrowth the roads would be safer for drivers and animals.

Bromyard Downs is a wonderful asset and yet the management committee seem to want to let the whole area below the top road just go to a wild state.

J A LANE, Winslow, Bromyard.