SIR – I would like to thank you for being brave enough to print D S Sedgwick’s letter about his disgust at the lorry drivers’ sex in the city article.

As programme manager for the South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership, I represent a large number of organisations who work towards making our area a safer place to live.

Our partners are concerned about the effects a story like this may have on your readers as it increases the fear of crime far beyond the realities of what we experience here.

Crimes should not go unreported but the paper needs to be aware of the impact the slant of a story can have on its readers. An example of this would be the minor damage caused to the youth shelter in Ronkswood reported recently. Community workers and young people worked hard to get it built and were upset to see it damaged. A story highlighting the need for information on who caused the damage would have been far more productive.

I challenge the Worcester News to work with the Community Safety Partnership in reassuring our community. The extremes of crime and ASB highlighted by the national media are not prevalent here.

LAUNA WALKER,

Programme Manager, South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership.