Following your coverage of the damage caused at the pavilion at Barton, Oxford (Oxford Mail, February 26), I would like to respond to critics who replied to this report through your website.

Some suggested that all Barton residents were not worth their salt and "should be left to get on with it".

May I respectfully remind everyone and, in particular, Alan from North Oxford, that the majority of Barton residents (this includes private developments by both Pye and Barratts) are decent folk, people you would choose to live next door to.

And, more especially, I would like to point out the group of volunteers who, for the past 25 years, have sacrificed a great deal of their time and energy to provide football facilities for the local youth.

They work their socks off, trying to raise desperately-needed funds to keep these kids on the straight and narrow and off the streets, giving them a purpose as well as teaching them both discipline and self-respect.

These grossly undervalued members of the community need all the support they can get to be able to continue their worthwhile work. What they don't need are useless, meaningless comments and criticisms made by people who probably have never known what life is like on the other side of town.

I hope Alan from North Oxford never becomes a victim of mindless vandalism, and should he wish to make a valuable contribution, why not come along and help run one of our very successful teams and see the other side of the coin?

Alternatively, if he doesn't wish to get his hands dirty, a financial donation would be welcome.

And just for the record, virtually none of these kids involved with Barton United go on to offend or go down the road of crime, so we're not all bad in Barton.

SUE HOLDEN, Barton Community Association