I wish to distance myself and my fellow trailriders from the youngsters on off-road motorcycles who have been riding illegally in Woodingdean, Whitehawk and Peacehaven.

As trailriders, we hold motorcycle licences and ride fully insured and taxed off-road motorcycles with valid MOTs on rights of way we are legally allowed to ride on.

Only three per cent of public rights of way in the UK are open to us and we restrict our riding to these.

We are respectful of other users of these rights of way we meet, who include walkers, horse-riders and cyclists, and have a great respect for the countryside.

We are a minority group and wish to enjoy our pastime in a responsible manner. However, other user groups are trying their hardest to take away our rights.

For this reason, I wish to make it clear we are not irresponsible hooligans on noisy scramblers.

We merely wish to enjoy the countryside using a fully legal form of transport on rights of way that have been in existence for many years to allow passage of vehicles, be they horse-drawn or motorised, from one place to another.

We do not tear up and down fields all day and must not be tarred with the same brush as those who illegally ride uninsured and untaxed motorcycles.

It is unfortunate youngsters are bought off-road motorcycles by parents who are not willing to transport them to somewhere they can legally ride.

I cannot condone the illegal use of them in areas that expose people to a continual high level of noise or where there is an uninsured risk of causing injury to innocent people.

These kids, though, do have the right to be able to legally enjoy their hobby somewhere. There is a motocross track at Small Dole and the cost to use it for practice is £15 for a whole day.

Surely this would be money well spent if the parents could transport their children there?

It is the parents that the police should be dealing with.

There is little point in sending the kids packing if the parents are not also held responsible for their actions.

-Name and address supplied