FURTHER to your item on street entertainers in York (August 17), I should like to recount the following.

On Saturday, some 100 people, myself included, were enjoying a group from Zimbabwe, singing in St Helen's Square. In a gap between items, a uniformed female council employee sprang out to inform the startled performers that they would need a licence to sell their CDs. This was equivalent to an instant downpour; no more music was forthcoming and the crowd drifted away.

For the future benefit of performers and punters alike, I ask the relevant authorities these questions: Are buskers free to perform anywhere they choose? From where may the required licence be obtained? How much does it cost, and for how long is it valid? And are street entertainers required to display or produce it, if so where and to whom? Otherwise, how are bystanders to know which artists are 'approved'?

Dr K Davis,

Mason's Court,

Cockermouth,

Cumbria.

Updated: 10:46 Tuesday, August 21, 2001