Sir.-There are two items in last Friday's Gazette that I would like to comment on.

Firstly, dog fouling. Some people who walk their dogs on open land between Brighton Hill and Hatch Warren pick up their dog's mess then lob the bag into, or under, the nearest hedge.

Secondly, I am concerned about litter. Until there is a national campaign, starting at the earliest opportunity, we shall never stamp out this scourge of littering our beautiful countryside.

One only has to walk the footpaths of this borough to see how bad it is. This is a prosperous area - but it looks like a Third World country.

-Name and address withheld.

Sir.-The Gazette's "Litter - Let's Bin It" initiative is reported (Friday Gazette, January 2) to delight the leader of Basingstoke council.

But is the council part of the problem? Unless litter bins are readily available, beer cans, water bottles, takeaway containers, cigarette packs and sweet papers etc will continue to be dropped.

Consequently, to state the obvious, lack of bins encourages litter.

For example, the council provides no bins along the Castle Field path (Fairfields Road to Cordale Road) so litter ends up in the Fairfields School playing field.

Similarly, local councillors and officers have been made fully aware that bins along Shrubbery Walk (Southern Ringway to Harrow Way) have a history of going up in flames. But, as recently as November, replacements for burned-out bins were installed - all made of wood!

-Name and address withheld.