SIR - Gemma Demaline ('Please leave the poor pigeons out of this', Craven Herald letters, June 14) is clearly right that the rubbish dumped near the railway bridge has indeed its origin in a human not avian source.

However she is in error on other matters.

My wife's widescreen wipers are imperfectly good order but, had she been in a stream of traffic when her vision was suddenly obscured by pigeon droppings, she would have had much less than

one second in which to turn on the wipers, press the spray button and take evasive action - hardly feasible.

Fortunately there was, on this occasion, no other vehicle close by either ahead or behind.

Secondly, the natural habitat for the pigeons has not been destroyed - not one of the many trees by the side of the road has been removed so there is plenty of alternate roosting sites.

Of course, birds cannot avoid defecation, but Network Rail, who own the bridge, could make it secure from roosting birds without causing any harm to them.

On occasions, I have noticed a number of birds that appear to have been poisoned, so there must be those who are attempting to take the matter into their own hands - an action which I deplore.

Councillor Alan Hickman, Keighley Road, Skipton