SIR – Congratulations to Councillor Richard Udall for pressing forward with the handsome sculpture to commemorate the Worcestershire Yeomanry, and to Victoria Harrison for its fine realisation.

Regrettably it has been situated where it will inevitably be very vulnerable to possible vandalism.

Why not re-site it in the Worcester Guildhall courtyard or at the cathedral?

Another possible location could be the giant glass box that looks across to the Guildhall from above the alleyway leading down to Waterstones.

I reckon the big poppy might just neatly fit in that, with a suitable panel below explaining what it’s all about.

Or is there another future city plan to stick something pleasing and significant into that vacant aerial space?

Mike Jackson

Bromyard

Failed in duty to educate

SIR – Is it our fault that we didn’t educate the young men who stoned Polish people?

Instead of their boorish behaviour towards those who they think are inferior, why didn’t they know about Poland’s support to our country?

There is a memorial stone on Jennet Tree Lane, near Powick. A young Polish RAF pilot had to parachute out of his spitfire in 1941. He escaped injury and continued on active service. Later that year he lost his life over France. He and thousands of Poles were helping us in “our darkest hour”.

Nobody even found his body to send him home.

He was probably only a few months older than the cowardly imbeciles on Astwood Road.

We’re all to blame for this. We let it happen. We’ve failed in our duty to educate our youth.

Gerry Taggart

Powick

We’ve made our decision

SIR – The Worcester News reports that the UK’s population has jumped by nearly two million last year. New figures also reveal that UK is closing the gap on France currently the most populous country in the bloc.

Eurostat estimated that UK had a population of 65.3 million at the beginning of this year. This means that the country is the third most populous in the bloc behind Germany (82.2 million) and France (66.7 million) and accounts for 12.8 per cent of the total.

On January 1 the number of people living in EU nations was estimated at 510.1 million – compared with 508.3 million on the same date a year earlier. Eurostat, EU’s official statistical office, said: “The remainder of the change is driven mainly by net migration into the union”.

A spike in reported hate crimes peaked on the day after the EU referendum result was announced, new figures reveal. There were 289 alleged offences in the UK on June 25 – equivalent to 12 every hour police data showed yesterday. More than 3,000 hate crimes and incidents were reported to forces in the second half of June, a rise of 42 per cent compared with the same period last year according to the National Police Chiefs Council. John Campion, police and crime commissioner has called the culprits “bigots”.

Whilst I am happy with the result of the referendum I suspect I am not alone in feeling concerned about population increases at this rate and hope that our borders become less porous now that we are a sovereign nation. Ukip supporters are routinely branded racists quite unreasonably. Now retired Nigel Farage has had to endure racist abuse and threats of attack. I am clear that I am not xenophobic.

I understand that David Cameron fancies the idea of delaying invoking Article 50 for as long as possible in order to give those of that frame of mind the chance to challenge the validity of the referendum result. I regard this as unpatriotic and undemocratic. The British people have made it quite clear where their preferences and loyalties lie.

Wendy Hands

Upton-upon-Severn