FORMER town mayor John Warne and county councillor Debo Sellis should be applauded for their initiative in tackling the litter louts' squalor (Times, July 28).

An annual litter harvest is held in many seaside towns and might feature in Tavistock.

But who are the louts? The Meadows bandstand and the footpath parallel to Crowndale Road and the college sports field point the finger at teenagers. Visiting school parties are prone to drop their drink cans etc in the gutter or garden hedges in Parkwood Road. In country roads, passing motorists and lorry drivers seem to regard the verges as ribbon-style rubbish bins.

Sadly, the louts are unaware of the squalor they create or dismiss it as 'not my problem'. It is, I fear, one of the evils of modern society.

Graham Kirkpatrick

Tavistock