THE Times recently printed a letter about horse dung being left on the pavement and who is responsible for cleaning it up.

In terms of litter, I quite like horse dung: it is bio-degradable, unlike plastic bottles and fast food containers; it's not dangerous to animals and people, like broken glass or tin lids; it smells nice, unlike dog mess; and it reminds me that we live in a country town, surrounded by farm animals. However, I'm willing to agree that a busy pavement isn't the place for it, and certainly the rider should have picked it up.

He or she didn't, so maybe the owner of the adjacent property could have done so. Given that neither West Devon Borough Council nor Devon County Council can monitor and clean every street every day, couldn't a local resident have scooped it into a bag? I did so with the previous deposit at Westbridge; it was gratefully received by my compost bin.

Many people in Tavistock carry a bag in their pocket to pick up litter every day as a normal activity as they walk through the town. The more people that do this, the less litter we will see.

The Tidy Tavy group of volunteers is holding its second Tidy Tavy Day on Saturday November 19, meeting outside the Wharf at 10am, finishing by noon. Bags, tabards and grabbers will be provided. For more information see http://www.tidytavy.co.uk">www.tidytavy.co.uk or ring me on 614821.

Jane Miller

Westbridge Cottages

Tavistock