I am writing in reply to the letter of Tuesday 6th April from the Leader of Weymouth Town Council about the Custom House Quay railings.

How many more people would the Leader of the Town Council want to lose their lives before the Town Council actually does something?

Over the past few years, there have been 11 people who have fallen into the harbour and I know of at least two who have died and one of those being a constituent of mine.

The real issue here is that people have died and Weymouth Town Council has stood by and done nothing about it, which is why Dorset Council has had to act.

I agree that in an ideal world these railings would not be needed.

But all that Cllr Harris has had to say is that he doesn’t want any railings.

He totally fails to recognise that people have lost their lives and his council has done nothing about it.

And, if I may, I would also encourage Mr and Mrs Burchill in their protest about the lack of consultation, to also recognise that people have died on this quay because having read the newspaper on Tuesday, there is no recognition of that at all.

You will know, if you have lost a child in an accident, that you will want to see everything possible being done to prevent that accident happening again.

I urge Weymouth Town Councillors at least, to reflect on the balance of their argument because if somebody else dies by falling into the harbour with no measures having been taken (such as railings), they will need to consider their direct responsibility for any further loss of life.

CHRIS LODER MP

Member of Parliament for West Dorset