I START this letter with a warning. If the word NIMBY offends you, read no further. Tear out the page and burn it before you become contaminated with the NIMBYism, because I hereby declare 'I am a NIMBY and I'm proud of it'.

There, I have said it. I've come out of the closet and I invite all you NIMBYs out there to join me and wear your NIMBYism with pride. Don't speak furtively along to NIMBYs Anonymous to admit your sin to a small circle of fellow sufferers; shout it out loud, wave a NIMBY banner and confront the government with a mass NIMBY pride march. Let's face it, we are not alone. I defy anyone to claim they do not have a streak of NIMBYism when it comes to the crunch.

After all, that's the whole point: it's not just my back yard, nor your back yard. Everybody's back yard is threatened in one way or another and the whole country, or indeed the whole world, is in a sense our communal back yard.

So why deny it? Devon needs NIMBYs in order to fight back against the multitude of directives imposed on us by central government and the so called South West Regional Assembly (which lumps us together with Swindon) and we need to make ourselves heard.

Every new proposal for a manifestly unsuitable development designed to line someone's pocket at the expense of the environment and the community, brings out a highly motivated group of local objectors, usually with a catchy acronym, of which I could quote a dozen or more if I had a half-decent memory. They probably won't admit it, but these are the un-sung NIMBYs who I want to see recognised and praised for their NIMBYism.

I think there should be a National Organisation of NIMBYs with the county branches and district groups to work together with all the local NIMBYs and hold a competition for the NIMBY of the Year Award.

Yours, proud to be a NIMBY.

CHRIS HASSALL,

Landcross.