I THOUGHT I must put pen to paper to put the good side of Petts Wood in print.

There has been a lot of adverse comment in the press recently about how Petts Wood has become a "no-go area".

I have lived here for 26 years, more than some of your readers who have complained about the area.

Yes, the area is not as good as it was. But nowhere is.

You have only to listen to the police to see so-called "no-go problem areas" are Penge, Beckenham and Bromley town centre. In comparison, Petts Wood is still a good place to live.

Your paper has published numerous articles on how bad the area is but you fail to balance it with the good.

The Christmas lights were a welcome addition to Queensway but little mention was made in the paper of the time and effort put in by the business association to get these lights installed.

We have many green spaces which are well maintained by the council, despite the odd bit of vandalism and graffiti.

And the council will arrange with its contractor to remove graffiti within 48 hours of a call.

Our roads are not cluttered up with abandoned vehicles, although there is a little bit of flytipping.

These problems are small compared with some areas.

Mr P Webb, Petts Wood