I WAS totally underwhelmed by yet another anecdotal tome from York's very own self-appointed champion of the motorist.

Yes folks, lets hear it for Mike Usherwood, foot-shooter extraordinare.

Our Mike tells us candidly that he has not studied physics for 55 years. This explains much.

Science has moved on dramatically since 1945 and some of its more notable triumphs - among many failures - are the child health problems caused by lead in petrol in the late Seventies and early Eighties.

The eventual result?

Unleaded petrol and catalytic converters.

More recently the identity of the damage done to the ozone layer by CFCs brought about a ban on their use.

Now science has quantified the problem of climate change beyond all reasonable doubt.

We all know the cure of course, but we won't accept it until the sign at the railway station is changed to York-on-Sea and Scarborough is a distant memory.

So, Mr Usherwood, before you make a fool of yourself any more I strongly advise you to update your knowledge base substantially.

The physics of 1945 produced atomic weapons and we certainly don't need them any more than we need the daily death, destruction and mayhem caused by car dependency.

I look forward to reading more reasoned arguments from you soon.

Graham Horne,

Beech Avenue,

Bishopthorpe,

York.