OBJECTIONS to gravel extraction around Milford are another example of nimbyism.

This has gone on in this area since I was a toddler (I am now 51) and it hasn't affected tourism then or now.

The gravel pits that existed then and now were inconspicuous from the road unless you deliberately looked for them and new pits can and would be screened for noise and dust.

Before the war homes were always built with local materials and the Milford area was no different - there were brick, sand and gravel pits everywhere.

These protesters pretend they are environmentalists yet they would sooner see aggregates brought in from miles away rather than quarried locally and driven short distances.

Stopping a gravel pit does not stop the demand for its products, but they aren't interested in local economics.

These protesters hide behind smokescreens of concern about tourism and environmentalism, but there is no evidence at all that either would be affected (I haven't even mentioned the need for real jobs for our young people yet).

The truth is these protesters are selfish, That they can attend all-day inquiries when others are at work says a lot about their makeup.

ANDY KING, Highcliffe, Dorset.