I HOW sad today, to see the pigeons milling round the feet of shoppers sitting on the seats in the Newport Street precinct, waiting for the scraps of pasties, pies and sandwiches that many shoppers are used to giving to these birds.

Sad that is, because shoppers have now been forbidden by the council to feed the pigeons - the penalty for doing so being a hefty £50 fine. The reason given by the powers-that-be for outlawing the feeding of the pigeons, is that any left-over food is likely to attract rats.

Left-over food? Have these law makers seen the way these birds devour whatever is cast before them? There is as much chance of a litter warden picking up a piece of left-over food from the precinct, as there is of anyone picking up a disease from these beautiful birds.

In fact, these birds could actually be keeping rats at bay by consuming the food thrown away by people, usually in the side streets.

As for the mess pigeons make on town centre buildings - this can, and is, being controlled by nets, etc., and rightly so.

Perhaps our litter wardens would be put to better use in Deansgate, Bradshawgate and Bank Street on Friday and Saturday nights, where apparently there is enough left-over food deposited to feed a pied piper's army - or maybe it is easier to approach an elderly shopper in Newport Street than a drunken yob on Bradshawgate.

Brian Derbyshire

Ribchester Grove

Bolton