LAST Sunday morning, while out walking my granddaughter in her pram in Longsight Park, Harwood, I was twice forced to move off the path to allow cars to squeeze past.

A gentleman walking his dogs pointed out that as many as 20 cars drive along the Park's narrow path every Sunday morning.

It turns out, the reason for this unacceptable practice is to enable fathers and mothers to drive their sons directly to the side of their football pitches.

Longsight Park has a very acceptable car park some 300 or 400 yards away from the pitches. It also had adequate changing rooms 100 yards or so from the pitches. The park also has two perfectly clear notices stating it is forbidden to drive cars into the park.

Why then are these people doing this? Are they unaware of the damage they are doing, or do they not care? They are teaching their children to ignore official instructions, they are neglecting and teaching their children to neglect important environmental issues.

They are becoming a dangerous nuisance to legitimate park users, but perhaps most importantly they are reducing the opportunity for their children (and themselves) to take a little bit of extra exercise, ie walking.

Is it any wonder the country's national football team is struggling and facing a bleak future, if the exercise of our future prospective players seems to be made up of rolling out of bed; into the car; on to the pitch; back into the car; then probably on to the settee and finally back into bed.

Bill Howarth

Tottington Road,

Harwood, Bolton