I am not a member of XR (Extinction Rebellion) but agree with its broad aims and principles.

I thought their 'bike action' (Gazette, June 4) was educative, well timed and non-disruptive.

The blue road signs - at a time when there was virtually no traffic through the town of Kendal - were not in any way disruptive, and the fore-gathering in Abbot Hall Park (that I happened to be walking through at the time) was multi-generational, friendly and inclusive.

It did not stray onto the public pathways and adhered strictly to the lockdown stipulations in operation at the time.

It seemed to me - as a non-participant, a mere passerby - to be a community gathering of like-minded people working together for the common good.

Yet, you quote an (anonymous) 'Cumbrian County Council spokesman' as describing the blue lines that marked the cycle lanes as 'vandalism'.

That is a very strange and unsubstantiated claim. Does the 'spokesman' understand what real vandalism entails? The cabinet member for highways and transport, Keith Little, is then quoted as threatening that 'if something like this happens again the council will be prepared to pursue legal action'.

Mr Little is a long-standing and no doubt respected Labour councillor, but, on this occasion, he seems to be hopelessly out of step (and, indeed, out of his depth) in addressing the needs of a new and greener Kendal.

Do Mr Little and his colleagues in local government understand what is at stake for a town that faces the immense challenge of moving from 'the auld grey town' of the past to the new green town of the future?

They cannot simply confront peaceful and informed civil action - motivated in the interests of that new and greener future - by labelling it as 'vandalism' and threatening it with 'legal action'.

They need to educate themselves - which is precisely what 'bike action' was all about.

Jon Nixon

Kendal