HERALD Express readers who contributed to the Ellacombe Fire Fund have every right to feel a little pride today.

Nothing, of course, can mitigate the horror of what happened on the day last October when a house fire claimed the lives of two bright and popular youngsters.

Their devastated family members were left with nothing but the clothes in which they stood.

Then, with quiet determination, their community began to raise money to help them, at least, to have a roof over their heads. There was a candle-light vigil, and a series of events to raise money.

Donations poured in to a bank account set up for the purpose.

Today Mike and Gill Wojak and their son are living in a new home, with furniture and fittings provided thanks to the donations sent in.

Mike Wojak is quite right to say that the response of the local community goes a long way to proving that those who talk about 'Broken Britain' do not taken into account the warmth and generosity shown by the likes of those who responded to the Ellacombe appeal.

Nothing will ever undo the terrible events of the day of the blaze, but the genuine response of the town might be some small comfort.

Messy, confusing, rambling, unedifying and tangled, are all adjectives used by official observers who sat in on a recent Torbay Council meeting.

Their report on proceedings shows council procedures in a very unfavourable light, and it is to be hoped that the comments will be taken seriously and rectified.

Members of the council may indeed be paying thorough attention at all times, and they may in fact be taking proper notice of statements and questions from the public.

But if they appear to the outsider to be fidgeting and whispering their way through meetings, then the public's perception of them will inevitably be damaged.

Given the council's current standing with the local public, it might be an idea to brush up on how members behave when they are under scrutiny from the most important people of all — not the official observers but the electors of Torbay.