Headline July 24: "Outcry at bid to shut centre for tourists." Headline August 7: "Fury at tourist centre closure"

Perhaps there was another headline in the week between, when I was away, but two weeks is a very short time for an irreversible decision to have been made about the Marlborough Tourist Information Centre.

I worked as a volunteer for the Marlborough TIC from the days in St Peter's Church, through an office in Hughenden Yard, to the purpose-built centre in the car park.

I was one of those "allowed to leave" when it was thought more appropriate to employ mainly paid staff.

At the same time the TIC took over the whole building and absorbed some of the functions of the Kennet finance services office, ever more expansion to keep up with demand for local knowledge and information from home and overseas. Marlborough was often the first stop by a jet-lagged family off a flight at Heathrow heading for the West Country and seeking a comfortable bed and breakfast, and often given their first introduction to Avebury at the same time.

How can this knowledge and information be crammed into a tiny space in an already overcrowded library, which isn't even open seven days a week?

And what about the dedicated staff who "have already received redundancy notices" and "have been told not to discuss the situation"?

Are they not allowed to air their justifiable grievance? These people deserve better treatment.

As a final query, where will people get their green garden rubbish bags in future?

ANTONIA WETHERED

Collingbourne Kingston

Marlborough