Insulting to turn away cash from cross-dressing fundraisers

It is very hard to imagine a more insulting and misguided response than to refuse this charitable collection. Not only to those who generously gave, but to the selfless, generous and public-spirited people of Ludlow who went to a great deal of trouble to put on a fancy nurses costume and worked hard to collect a fantastic amount of money for the NHS Community Trust. Well, I can’t imagine one.

What sort of distorted ideology is perpetrated amongst senior NHS senior managers these days? Their priority should be the welfare of their patients. It is not their job to spend time or make decisions based on some imagined slight to their wrong-headed, politically-correct doctrines.

My wife is a nurse by career and is not in the slightest bit offended by men dressing up as a nurse or any other female profession to add some jollity to an occasion. Cross-dressing is a staple of British and world comedy. Think Some Like it Hot, Mrs Doubtfire, Tootsie, Mrs Brown’s Boys.

Ms Ditheridge and Mr Ridley are very obviously devoid of any sense of humour and incapable of laughing at themselves. What a grey, soulless and funereal world they must inhabit. I am ashamed to have these sorts of people running public services in Shropshire. Or anywhere.

I think that this extremely silly couple of Herberts should offer a very public apology forthwith and gratefully accept the funds raised.

I further suggest that they add another £2,500 of their own money to help appease the anger and astonishment they have so obviously created.

If they do not have the humility to do this and to learn from their ludicrous mistake, they should be removed from their posts without further delay.

J T Thorogood, Cound