Pensioners' tickets have gone up from £1.50 to £3.60.
And is the dreadful, amplified music – which is being played for the benefit of the lifeguards – another strategy to drive people away?
The tactics seem to be working.
On my last visit – and it may well be – the pool was deserted.
John Webster
Scale Hall Lane
Newton with Scales

Garden of fame idea
SOMEONE who would be good for the Garden of Fame is yesteryear's comedian, Al Read.
He lived in St Annes and was very popular in the '50s and '60s.
He lived on St Annes Road East and his son Alex went to King Edward's.
I would have thought he had more local connection than Seve, who only visited St Annes.
Gill
Via e-mail

Ode to our seaside town
ST ANNES the town of sea and sand
Where living there is simply grand.
To stroll along the front or pier
Or amble the streets with little fear.

Shops abound within easy reach,
Pleasant cafes along the beach,
Sales assistants so cheerful that
They always spare the time to chat.

Oft times I have travelled oer the world
And given many a town a whirl
But hand on heart I can but say,
That from St. Annes I neer will stray.
William Allan
Poplar Court, St Annes

Sewage issue is a scandal
I ENCLOSE an extract from a recent letter written by Dr John Collins, the North-Central area manager for the Environment Agency:
"Ballam Road Pumping Station discharges storm sewage into Liggard Brook when the sewer is at full capacity during rainfall. The discharge therefore consists of raw foul sewage diluted with rainfall runoff. If the number of properties discharging to the sewage system served by the pumping station increases, the volume of raw sewage will increase and therefore the storm sewage overflow to Liggard Brook will operate more often with less dilution.
"We have been working hard nationally to eliminate as many as possible of the combined sewage overflows but this one does not have a scheme agreed with the water company to improve it."
This is, in my opinion, a scandalous situation which should be rectified immediately, particularly with regard to the profits our water company makes. Dr Collins' comments should also be of great interest to the parents of children at the splendid park initiated by residents of Park View Road and their supporters.
Malcolm Robishaw
Cleveland Road
Lytham.

Keep young people in care
AS MPs debate the Children and Young Persons Bill in Parliament, foster carers from across England will be asking them to make a commitment to young people in care by allowing them to stay with their foster families until they are 21.
Currently, young people can stay with their foster carers until their 18th birthdays. This means that some of society's most vulnerable young people are effectively being kicked out of home at 17, despite the fact that the average age for leaving home is 24.
Young people who have been in care are over represented in prisons and are more likely to be unemployed, mental health service users, single parents or homeless than those who grew up within their own families. Research shows that the longer a young person can stay with their foster family, the better the outcomes – being able to stay until 21 will give them a better chance of succeeding when they do live independently.
It is vital that every local MP across the country acts now to ensure the Government makes this investment in vulnerable young people – the social costs of not doing so are too high.
Robert Tapsfield
Chief Executive
The Fostering Network

Lobby MPs on testing
SINCE 2004, it has been illegal, under EU legislation, to supply cosmetics (including toiletries) where the finished product has been tested on animals, or where the ingredients have been tested on animals where a validated, alternative testing method exists.
Additional regulations are due to come into force in 2009 and 2013, leading to a total ban on the sale of cosmetics which contain ingredients, or a combination of ingredients, that have been tested on animals for cosmetics purposes.
Currently the Government, responsible for enforcing the directive in this country, has no adequate checks in place to ensure manufacturers are complying with these laws.
However, an early Day Motion (EDM 1279) has been raised that "supports the transparent and thorough implementation of the animal testing and marketing bans in the Council Directive 76/768 relating to cosmetic products".
I would ask that those concerned about the unnecessary suffering of animals to lobby their MP about this proposal - and also EDM 1215, which seeks "a similar prohibition on the use of animals to test household products, such as washing-up liquid or floor cleaners".
S Barnett
Blackpool Vegans
Nairn Close
Blackpool