I AM writing to defend the residents of Penhill. I am sick and tired of people putting the area down.

I have lived on the estate for 18 years and 10 of them in the Valley. I also worked at Rick's off-licence in the Valley for quite a few years until Mrs Joan Ricks retired. Joan has lived in the same place for over 40 years and has seen children grow up on the estate and have families of their own and working at Rick's off-licence were some of the happiest years of my life. The people in Penhill were friendly and would always help each other out in a crisis. How many other estates have community spirit such as ours? Do the people putting us down in these other areas look out for each other or do they keep themselves to themselves? Why do they judge what they don't know?

Please know us before you judge us. After all, we all live on the same planet and there is good and bad everywhere.

I still work in Penhill at Uplands special school and I wouldn't want to live or work anywhere else.

Lorna Breslin

Burtage Road

Penhill, Swindon