Dear Madam - I went into town on Saturday afternoon, admittedly I don't go there very often as I'm usually working etc, so time is constrained.

I have family visiting us from Canada and they asked if we could all go into town to have a wander round the shops and perhaps a bit of lunch.

We parked in the college car park and proceeded to walk towards the town. As usual ,there was the noise coming from the pub ,but this time there were lots of people outside making a lot of noise and to be honest being very rowdy which unnerved me and my visitors as it was quite intimidating.

Next ,as we passed the so called market area we were met by a few guys who had just come out of the centre drinking their red bulls and proceeded to settle down for the day in their sleeping bags etc and their money collections in front of them. We went up past church green only to be faced by around ten intoxicated elderly men all drinking cider and cans of lager.

I have to say, I felt ashamed of my town and what it has become. I've lived here for 40 years and don't recognise it any more. I wonder if any other residents feel the same.

Dave Wilson

Crabbs cross

Redditch