YP Letters: Fracking threatens '˜food basket of England'

From: Mrs J Hellowell, Kirkbymoorside.
Bernard Ingham is wrong to back fracking.Bernard Ingham is wrong to back fracking.
Bernard Ingham is wrong to back fracking.

I, LIKE Bernard Ingham (The Yorkshire Post, June 1), was also born at Hebden Bridge and I worked on the family hill farm.

We had a milk-round in the town at the time when the iron foundry, the dye-works, sheet-metal works, wireworks, weaving sheds and sewing mills were all in full production.

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My family has owned a dairy farm in the heart of rural Ryedale for the last 30 years.

This area is one of the main food baskets of England. Neighbouring farms have sheep, beef cattle, pigs, poultry, potatoes, oil seed rape, wheat, barley, soft fruit etc.

All these commodities need pure water and pure air to thrive and yet this is now at risk from the effects of fracking.

Some of us have boreholes to supplement the mains water supply.

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As has been proven in every country where fracking has taken place, agriculture has suffered devastating results.

Pure air and pure water disappear.

No doubt Sir Bernard would be quite happy to import cheap food of dubious quality.

I suggest to him it would be wiser to leave our beautiful countryside in its wonderful productive state, our hard-working communities happy and our tourists still visiting.