ANOTHER day, another illegal travellers' encampment takes up residence on fields in Leeds.
This time it's Hunslet that has been landed with the uninvited guests.
Only a few weeks ago rugby league club Farnley Falcons was counting the cost after travellers ruined its pitches.
Similar wrecking sprees have also been carried out in Wortley,
Armley and other parts of the city.
It can't be right that we face a £75 fine if we drop a cigarette butt when others can set up home wherever they like with no concern for others.
Nor is it right that taxpayers' money should be expected to keep paying for clean-ups costing millions of pounds once the travellers move on.
Those who choose to spend their lives travelling up and down the country should be given the freedom to do so. But that doesn't mean they have the right to cause misery for others along the way.
These people clearly have no respect for the law of the land as it stands.
Therefore it must be changed to give police greater powers to force them to keep to it.
Travellers ask us to respect their way of life, but it's not a one-way street. They cannot be allowed to continue to disregard the rights of others.
Green challengeTHOUSANDS of tonnes of waste is being dumped into landfill each week because we're all too lazy.
According to research, only 52 per cent of Yorkshire's rubbish is being recycled because too many of us only recycle items collected directly from our homes.
The motivation behind this survey appears to be a desire to shame us into action.
Yet is it really so unreasonable to expect our local authorities to take the lead when it comes to recycling?
Responsibility for protecting our environment rests on all our shoulders.
Yet far more can be achieved through collective effort – and councils have both the resources and manpower to take recycling to a new level. We can all play a part but we can't do it alone. We have every right to look to our local authorities to lead the way.
Overdue tributeCREATING a permanent monument to the birth of the Marks & Spencer empire is fitting and long overdue.
Honorary Alderman Dr Jeffrey Sherwin has called for a replica of their original 'Penny Bazaar' market stall to be installed near the entrance to Kirkgate Market.
It's a great idea and a perfect oppor-tunity to celebrate Leeds's role in Britain's retailing revolution.
Besides, if the subject matter is anything to go by, this won't be just any sculpture...
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