LAST Saturday saw yet another planned community beach clean-up on the West Esplanade.

It is truly amazing how plastic rubbish reasserts itself during the six weeks since the last session. Or perhaps not.

Starting at Kidston Park, one of the clean-up teams was picking up and bagging plastics, bottles and cans along the foreshore, working back towards the town.

Carrying the harvest of full bags back to the car park they were disappointed to find several freshly-bagged ‘doggy presents’ had already been tossed down on to the cleared foreshore.

C’mon dog owners, chucking bags of pet excrement on to beaches isn’t ‘disposal’, it’s littering.

Fire up a few synapses and consider donating your ‘doggy presents’ to the nearest bin.

Norman McNally,

Community Councillor,

Helensburgh Community Council

THE latest SNP election leaflet to be posted through my letterbox includes a number of references to the seven Labour councillors on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

What the leaflet doesn’t tell you is that those Labour councillors voted against the cuts at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Strangely enough, it also fails to mention that the other 26 members on the health board are directly appointed by the SNP.

If the SNP sweeps the board in the council elections in May, the health board would be stuffed full of SNP yes–men with nobody to speak up for our local needs.

An SNP–run council alongside a SNP–dominated health board and an SNP Health Secretary is a recipe for disaster for our local NHS services.

Without any opposition the SNP would be given the green light to take away even more Vale services.

This contest is a straight fight between Labour and the SNP.

The question for voters is: do they trust the SNP to oppose their own SNP ministers in Edinburgh or do they trust Labour who will stand up for the Vale hospital.

That’s why I’m voting Labour in the council elections.

James Beattie,

Via email

SOMETIMES I feel like a character out of the Lewis Carroll book Alice in Wonderland: “I knew who I was this morning but I have changed my mind several times since then.”

Did Theresa May really vote to remain in the EU referendum and. despite that, she was chosen to be in charge of our EU departure.

She has vowed to get us the best possible deal but how will we know?

How will we know that she doesn’t have a secret plan to subvert our departure if we are not being allowed to know her plans?

Oh! And I almost forgot to say “Coalition of Chaos” as apparently all Conservatives have been told to work into any speech, although I did not think the Lib-Dem contribution to the Coalition in 2010 was that bad.

RL Mackie,

Helensburgh

I AM writing to let you and your readers know about another major initiative that Royal Mail has launched to protect consumers from scam mail.

Scam mail involves professional fraudsters sending often convincing letters that are designed to trick people out of money or other valuables. Scam mail can include bogus competitions and fake prize draws encouraging people to buy products to qualify for a prize which does not exist.

Last November, Royal Mail launched an industry-wide code of practice in conjunction with National Trading Standards, to crack down on scam mail.

Since then, Royal Mail – supported by the National Trading Standards Scams Team – has successfully stopped more than 700,000 scam items from reaching its customers.

Royal Mail has also started to proactively contact households it believes are receiving high volumes of scam mail. The latest anti-scam initiative will initially focus on the most-impacted customers.

Under the scheme, Royal Mail will block and impound suspected scam mail at its major distribution centres before it reaches the customer’s letterbox. Legitimate business and personal mail will continue to be delivered to customers as normal.

Impacted customers will be able to contact a dedicated Royal Mail helpline at 0800 085 8003, for information if they have any concerns. They can also arrange a home visit from Royal Mail staff.

We are also relying on local communities to play a role in defeating the scammers. We are supporting Friends Against Scams, a National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to take a stand. The organisation provides lots of helpful guidance and advice.

If readers have any concerns about neighbours, friends or family, we would ask them to visit the Friends Against Scams website www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/.

This action could make all the difference in protecting people in our communities from these criminals, and defeating the scammers for good.

Thank you for your support in helping to keep vulnerable customers safe.

Rob Jenson,

Royal Mail Operations Director

FROM May 15 to 19, pupils and teachers in schools throughout Scotland will be marking National Digital Learning Week by celebrating the use of digital technology as an important classroom learning resource.

As part of this activity, Sumdog is organising Scotland’s first ever nationwide online maths contest using our game-based learning system which is already regularly used in half of Scottish schools.

The contest is completely free to enter, open to all Scottish schools and runs from May 12 to 18.

Pupils taking part work together as a class to answer correctly as many maths questions as they can over that period.

The winning class will be announced at a special event in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, May 24.

We already have hundreds of classes across Scotland signed up but the contest will remain open to new entrants right up until it starts on May 12.

Taking part in this contest will be a great way for teachers and pupils to celebrate National Digital Learning Week, improving maths and numeracy skills while working together as a team and having fun.

More information about the Sumdog maths contest is available at www.sumdog.com/scotland.

Andrew Hall,

CEO,

Sumdog

KEEPING physically active is vital to maintaining a healthy heart.

However, last week we revealed new statistics that showed 1.6 million adults in Scotland fail to meet the recommended level of physical activity, significantly increasing their risk of heart disease and early death.

In the UK, physical inactivity causes one in ten 10 premature deaths from coronary heart disease and one in six deaths overall. So it has never been more important to get your heart pumping.

But getting active doesn’t have to be difficult. With the British Heart Foundation’s MyMarathon challenge you can complete the 26.2 miles in your own time, whether it’s over four hours, four days or four weeks.

Run to work every morning, jog during your lunch breaks or run laps around the park in the evenings – you decide the place and you decide the pace.

More than 30,000 people of all fitness levels took part in MyMarathon last year, raising over £1million for the BHF’s life-saving heart research.

Why not take on the challenge this May and give your physical activity a boost.

Every pound raised could help us accelerate the fight against heart disease, and make a real difference the 670,000 people locally who live with its burden.

You can sign up to MyMarathon by visiting bhf.org.uk/mymarathon where you will find helpful tips and advice on how to get started.

Dr Mike Knapton,

Associate Medical Director,

British Heart Foundation

BRITAIN keeps its promises, particularly to those most in need.

For 10 years, our commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of our national income on aid has been testament to that, and featured in all the major political party manifestos running up to the last general election.

I am proud of the UK’s history of providing life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable children.

As the first major economy to reach this spending target, the UK has shown how a transparent, independent and accountable approach to aid funding can change the world.

It is the right thing to do, and it shows the world that we are bigger than just ourselves.

Immunising millions of children against preventable diseases makes us a bigger Britain.

Supporting our doctors and nurses to lead the fight against Ebola makes us a bigger Britain.

Creating jobs and trade opportunities in developing countries makes us a bigger Britain.

This election must be an opportunity for all parties to re-affirm that commitment.

We are big enough to help people both at home and abroad. Let us all call on our future politicians to show their commitment to the most vulnerable by protecting UK aid.

Lucille Gilleece,

Clydebank

I WAS horrified to see the Tories campaigning in our high street at the weekend.

Do they have no shame? I have watched the funeral processions winding through our streets as the results of their cruel disability cuts have taken many of my friends and neighbours before their time.

The latest figure for life expectancy of a West Dunbartonshire woman is the lowest in Britain.

Many of us die before we are even old enough to retire – years of Tory cuts have resulted in us literally working until we drop.

And they have the cheek to tell us it’s our own fault for making “poor life choices”!

I know what choice I’ll be making on my ballot paper and it’ll be Tories “over my dead body”!

Margaret McDonald,

Dumbarton

WALKING to work reduces the chance of heart disease by 27 per cent, a new study in the British Medical Journal has found.

The study by the University of Glasgow found that people who cycle to work are 45 per cent less likely to get cancer, and people who walk to work have a 27 per cent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 36 per cent lower risk of dying from it.

Walking is a free, easy and accessible way to stay healthy and protect ourselves from chronic conditions.

New figures from the NHS last month revealed that one in four adults are inactive, but by choosing to swap short car journeys for a walk instead, we can easily fit more exercise into our day.

The high levels of air pollution in our towns and cities puts some people off travelling actively but the myth that we are protected from air pollution inside the car is simply not true. We are less exposed when on foot. And when people walk more, they are being part of the solution.

It’s Living Streets’ National Walking Month in May and we encourage people to #Try20 – and fit 20 minutes of walking into their day and see what benefits they feel to their health and happiness.

Tompion Platt,

Head of Policy, Living Streets

I NOTE Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron’s recent comments on his theological position on homosexuality and the possibility of Lib Dems entering another coalition with the Conservatives.

Am I alone in thinking that propping up a Tory government is a much greater sin and more harmful to the youth of the UK?

John Hein

Via email