I READ that the police could be as much to blame as the council for the firework fiasco (November 17).

This I can well believe, because I am sure that they were the very people behind the decision to stop the annual display at Clifford's Tower.

My family and I used to enjoy this display and we never ever saw any untoward behaviour, certainly nothing on the scale of that seen on a normal Friday or Saturday night in York city centre. We always got to our home on the outskirts of the city centre within about 45 minutes of the end of the display.

I am sure many businesses in the city centre will say that it brought welcome trade to shops and restaurants in the period before the run-up to Christmas.

The tower was well suited to this sort of display as there were plenty of places to stand without traipsing through acres of mud, as we did on Knavesmire when the fireworks were held there.

The police talk about safety concerns but what could be more dangerous than a crowd of people charging en-masse along Museum Street to get a look at the fireworks while traffic is still allowed through?

I say, either bring back the Clifford's Tower display or stop the whole thing and spend a bit more on making York a more festive place at Christmas, instead of begging to local business for funds.

Lesley Lickley,

Wheatlands Grove, York.

Updated: 10:58 Tuesday, November 22, 2005