Highbury Fields: ‘When children do not want to play there because of too much smoke from barbecues then I think there is a problem’

• HOW dare Alastair Harper say that residents near Highbury Fields oppose barbecues because they don’t want people in their backyard (Anti-barbecue protest has hijacked air pollution issue, March 3)! This is preposterous.

The Fields are a fabulous space to be enjoyed by everyone, and it is wonderful to see so many people out there on a lovely day, enjoying all the facilities, but when my children do not want to play there because of too much smoke from barbecues then I think there is a problem.

What happened to just having a picnic? And why can’t people take their litter home with them? The council now employs a team, in a van, to collect the hundreds of barbecue trays and other rubbish which overflow from the special bins provided, rubbish which is often strewn over the Fields overnight by foxes feasting on the leftovers.

This feels like inviting a bunch of people into your house to have a party and telling them they don’t have to clear up after themselves. When the council has just restructured our household refuse collection, presumably to save money, why does it continue to allow barbecues which make such a mess?

Please can we just have picnics, with some large signs reading “Keep Islington (and Britain) tidy” and “Take your litter home”!

JENNY PUDDINGTON
N5