DOZENS of people made their feelings known during a demonstration against cuts to public services in Haworth.

Placard-carrying protestors marched through the village on Saturday afternoon, led by Haworth resident and award-winning gardener, Steve Thorpe, who organised the action.

He staged the march to oppose a series of cuts that have hit Haworth recently, including the impending closure of Haworth Retained Fire Station.

The station is due to be shut on December 31 as part of a major cost-cutting initiative being undertaken by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service.

Mr Thorpe said: “I’m not someone who likes to cause bother, but I was laid in bed the other night and I realised sometimes you just have to stand up for what’s important.”

He is planning to hold another protest on Saturday, which will again set off at 1pm from outside the fire station.

Marchers taking part in last weekend’s action, who carried placards made by Mr Thorpe, rallied outside the fire station then set off along a route following Bridgehouse Lane and Main Street, before returning to the start point via Rawdon Road.

Mr Thorpe, 51, who lives in Prince Street, said: “It was brilliant – we had a good turnout and a great atmosphere. There were about 60 people who came along and some of them were people I’d never seen before.

“We had tremendous support in Main Street from people standing on the pavements and applauding us. I’m having another march to show we’re not letting this rest and to show them we mean business.

“It’s not just about the fire station. We’ve lost our library, our police station, our park keepers and a post office. Haworth is supposed to be one of the world’s main tourist areas but all local people see are cuts.

“We have the 1940s Weekend in Haworth – how safe will it be to have an event of that size with no emergency service nearby?

“And how can Haworth be classed as a ‘low risk area’ when there are all these new houses being built? The population is growing all the time.”

Mr Thorpe added for the second march this coming Saturday, he would like to see more participants from outlying parts of the Worth Valley, who will also be affected by the fire station closure.

“I like to think we’ll have a real army turn up now that word has gone round,” he said.

Responding last week to news of the first demonstration, a spokesman for the fire service said officers had carried out thorough risk assessments as part of the decision to close Haworth Fire Station.

He said Haworth’s fire safety needs would be covered by Keighley, with support from Illingworth and Bingley stations.

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