MARK Grahame hits the nail on the head with his comments about the new breed of ultra-loud fireworks (Letters, November 10).

The wood at the south end of Rowntree Park is the best wildlife site in South Bank. It has the full range of songbirds, plus squirrels and bats.

On bonfire night, I saw a group of people near the Millennium Bridge sending rockets off at an angle towards the park, so that time and again deafening explosions went off right at the centre of the wood, just above the tree-line.

Birds die of fright very easily, and cannot fly at night to get away from a noise source. Blackbirds have such sensitive ears that they can hear a worm moving beneath soil three feet away. Imagine what effect such explosions must have on them, and on other wildlife.

The detonations at the racecourse stand displays are louder still, and pose a threat both to wildlife and to any babies and young children living in the area.

Will the council noise officers and the police start to crack down on the use of these mortar-shell types of fireworks? Or will they instead continue to side with the noise vandals, and do nothing?

David Roberts,

Albemarle Road,

South Bank, York.

Updated: 10:18 Tuesday, November 16, 2004