I AM writing to you on not only a personal level, but also a professional one.

My disgust at your careless front page reporting in the October 6 edition of the Wiltshire Times angered me but most of all, disheartened me.

The story, whose sub-heading ran Two Polish shoppers and several hundred pigeons, stands accused, in my view, of racial and ethnic bias and sensationalism. Your reckless unnecessary referral to the two ladies' ethnic origin showed signs of careless reporting which panders to local narrow-mindedness in order to boost commercial sales.

I teach in a local comprehensive school under various job titles - head of careers, head of PSHE and citizenship and teacher of English. During one of my citizenship lessons in which we were discussing different types of racism, I felt myself defusing some very unsettling bias and prejudice, particularly with regards to local Polish residents in the community.

I often find myself patiently explaining that immigrants often play a vital role in the UK economy by filling jobs the British will not do because they find them either too tough or too badly paid. But this is another issue. I am sure that we have all come across people in society who feed pigeons regardless of council regulations or advice, irrespective as to whether they are Polish or not.

Craig Evry's article had such an abhorrent tone of xenophobia and racism it is not surprising that children are influenced to such an extent that they will use your tabloid-esque story to justify their so-called right' to slander and misjudge a whole race of people.

This is not the first time that I have felt that the Wiltshire Times has been guilty of an undertone of bias.

MRS C BRAY, Bradford on Avon