WITH family living in York, I often travel from my home in London to visit.

During a recent visit I was appalled by what I experienced.

Clean up your act York, your once beautiful city is dirty, intimidating and uninviting.

Why does City of York Council think it a good idea to charge £2 for parking during the evening? This surely will lead to a decline in visitors to the city which will adversely affect city centre businesses.

Unlike the oppressed motorist who visits York city centre during an evening, it is always possible to find a free parking space within central London within a short walking distance of the theatres, restaurants and shops around Oxford Street.

The other point is York's refuse and recycling service. The poor quality of this is evident from the filthy streets you see around certain areas. In addition to the large amounts of dog waste fouling the streets and back alleyways, you are confronted by high levels of general household rubbish littering many streets. This only adds to the feeling of intimidation one gets when walking around the dimly-lit streets. It's not just the picturesque centre which counts.

I live in Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest areas of the country, regularly used as an example of all that is wrong or bad. Indeed, until recently, Tower Hamlets had one of the worst recycling records in the country. But efforts by the council have seen a sharp rise in the amount of household rubbish being recycled by Tower Hamlet residents.

We are now able to recycle far more than the average York resident - cardboard boxes (cereal boxes and the like), all types of paper, envelopes and even several types of plastic.

City of York Council would be well advised to follow our lead.

Dillon Toyne,

Bethnal Green,

London E2.

Updated: 09:10 Friday, January 06, 2006