Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to Mr Bryan’s letter in December’s Sibford Scene.

I am the owner of the pick up truck to which Mr Bryan refers to as being parked “so thoughtlessly” and as such feel that I should explain my reasons for parking my vehicle where I do.

I have been living in Sibford since the end of March 1998 and l love it, apart from the speeding traffic in and out of the village. Being at the end of the village you can hear the speed of the traffic. It is amazing how often you hear locked brakes on school day mornings, which suggests to me that the problem is mainly caused by people taking their children to school, rather than the villagers.

I have also noticed that some people entering the village seem to think that the 30 mph (maximun speed) limit starts outside the Old Forge, rather than upon entering the village.

After a couple of neighbour’s cats had been killed on this short stretch of road, l decided to contact the Police and the Council to try and do something about this problem, but to no avail.

Then upon returning from work, I was horrified to find my cat had been hit by a vehicle. Her face was badly injured and she had a shattered jaw.

She was lucky to be alive!

This was the “last straw” for me and as a result decided something must be done to try and slow the traffic down, hence parking my pick up right outside my house.

I have however carefully studied the road to ensure that there is enough room for the larger vehicles, such as buses, tractors etc to pass safely and have not just parked it “without any consideration” for other road users.

I would rather not have to park my pick up where I do, but it does seem to have slowed down the traffic quite considerably, which surely must reduce the chance of someone getting injured? The speeding traffic is the biggest danger!

I apologise to any villagers for any inconvenience I have caused, but I hope you will understand my reasons for doing this. If anyone has any alternative suggestions, I would be pleased to hear from them.

Graeme Piercy