I WAS appalled to read of the racial abuse, physical assaults, threats and intimidation being suffered by a York teenager (March 18).

York has pledged a multi-agency approach to tackling racism and discrimination. This includes the input of the police, City of York Council, Victim Support and the York Racial Equality Network.

Your report contained no comment from the local education authority and I wondered why the boy's mother had to go to the Leeds Racial Harassment Unit for help and advice.

I know Ch Insp Andy Bell to be a man of integrity with a strong commitment to tackling racism. But complaints about police response times are not new but frequently justified.

Your report also suggests the alleged perpetrators are known and are below 18 years old.

Have their parents or guardians been made aware of their activities? We all have a responsibility to fight this most insidious of crimes. I do not think this family is asking too much of us.

Sandra Geere,

Park Grove, York.

...I WRITE in response to the repeated attacks on the young pupil at Millthorpe School by a racist gang (March 18).

I do not understand why the police re-gard solving these horrific crimes as a great a drain on their resources.

The gang left their nicknames and the fact that they are from Clifton. They are known to be recent school-leavers.

Therefore, it will only take a few moments to phone the head teachers of the secondary schools in and around Clifton to find the names and addresses of the offenders. They could then be questioned and identified in the usual way.

It should be little surprise to anybody that these attacks coincide with British National Party activity in Clifton. It seems that wherever the BNP appears so does violence and disorder.

Gary Robertson,

Albemarle Road, York.

Updated: 10:09 Friday, March 26, 2004