Fairytales are necessarily filled with stereotypes and exaggerated situations in order to put over a moral. As in Robert Fort’s letter 'Why did they invade our lovely villages?' (Craven Herald, June 18), fairytales also often trade in prejudices.

Putting to one side the silly War of the Roses set up (Yorkland vs Madchester) and that the 'pestilence' only exists in cities (the highest rate of coronavirus infection was in Cumbria), who are the vampiric 'nozzers' that invaded Burnsall and set up an 'alien occupation'?

Are they the public who have every right to visit their national park and as taxpayers contribute to both its upkeep and the farming that maintains its scenery?

Are many of them frontline workers, desperate for respite, who staff our hospitals and care homes, work in our supermarkets and warehouses, drive public transport and delivery vans, teach from home, and run our emergency services?

Are many of them young people who we hope to lure to the national park given that we have an ageing population?

Mr Fort forgets that we who have the privilege to live in beautiful villages set in a stunning landscape depend upon the cities for our livelihood.

The 'townies' Mr Fort depicts are a mass of wanton consumption and excretion (litter mostly). In stark contrast to 'locals' and other Yorklanders who care for this 'idyllic place', those from the cities are ignorant, idle and idiotic. In short, they are not us. While we nurture nature, they mess it up.

Mr Fort is right; littering is a disgrace. But it’s a disgrace no matter the source and the problem didn’t begin with 'nozzers' trashing Burnsall.

Far more insidious and harmful, since it is a year-on-year Dales-wide problem, is silage wrap, plastic tree guards and buckets, and chemical pollutants. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has given the UK’s National Parks 5 out of 6 for their biodiversity (6 is the lowest score). Hardly “idyllic” in terms of nature. And the damage was done before most of the Madchester horde were born.

The moral of the story? With his urge to pull up the drawbridge Mr Fort is in danger of locking in a far worse virus - an entitled and exclusionary nativism, which is out of place in the Dales.

Bruce McLeod

Otterburn