Letter: Landor Road, the street where we live

Sir: Further to the letter (6 November) of Chief Superintendent Bill Wilson, Landor Road is where my parish church is situated, and lies at the heart of St Andrew's parish. After 20 years as vicar of this delightful area, I should like to affirm the honesty and decency of the majority of the residents who live in and around Landor Road, who support their local police.

It is not a 'no-go' area as some in the media have implied. Young and old, black and white walk the length of Landor Road at any time of day or night. But the efforts of some to sensationalise the dangers of the road are inducing fear in its residents where none existed before, and this allows the street drug dealers to win.

An increase in police on the beat has been welcomed, but at the same time there has been an increase by some over-zealous police in aggressive policing by treating any black youngster as a possible criminal - that is the perception of some of our residents, and, of course, that type of policing led to the disasters of a decade or so ago.

Yours sincerely,

PAUL SIMMONDS

Vicar, St Andrew

London, SW9

6 November