Sir, On my return from a holiday in Provence, I read “Christmas cheer dimmed by health and safety rules” (Oct 13). How many people have been injured as a direct result of street Christmas lights? How does this number compare with the number injured and killed in road accidents each year?

The French prefer the “at your own risk” principle. We watched bulls being driven along a main street by five Camargue cowboys on horseback, where there were no railings. On the Pont d’Avignon, some 20 metres above the fast-flowing river, a sign simply warns parents to hold their children’s hands. We watched more bulls being driven at speed past coffee and hot dog stalls. We saw people jumping out of the way at the last minute, the only concession to safety being that the ends of the bulls’ horns had been filed down. I applaud the French.

Anie Forster
Tavistock, Devon

Sir, We have troops in Afghanistan to prevent the return of a regime, part of whose creed is to prevent any activity of a celebratory nature. British soldiers are dying so that Afghans can sing, dance and, although unlikely, put up Christmas lights.

Back home there is an organisation, large in number, and apparently well funded, whose very raison d’être seems to be the prevention of all joyous activity whether commercial or recreational.

The Health and Safety Executive’s title makes criticism almost heretical: why would you not want health and safety? We do, but we also want to hold summer fêtes and put up electric lighting. The HSE would say that it has no power to ban these things. Correct, but it does have the power to burden them with so much red tape and, specifically, extra cost, that many organisers give up.

Peter Davison
Camberley

Sir, None of the disproportionate safety measures described in your article stems from specific regulatory restrictions. It is the councils, or their insurers, who are insisting on applying guidance too literally and failing to use common sense.

Obviously those installing Christmas illuminations need to assess issues such as stability, electrical and fire safety. But it is a common misconception that statute and/or the common law require such installations to be totally risk-free. Whether they are acting on poor technical advice or are just using health and safety requirements as an excuse to save money, such behaviour not only denies the public the enjoyment they deserve, it also risks bringing legitimate health and safety activities into disrepute. Safety is about saving lives, not stopping people living.

Roger Bibbings
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

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