As one of Kerbside's directors I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your coverage of our campaign for survival ("It's us or them; take your pick of recyclers", Courier, July 18).

You describe the manage-ment and directors of Kerbside as "gutsy" but any awards for courage must go to the people we employ.

They overcame years of rejection and disappointment, placing their trust in us that we would be a different kind of employer and give them a real chance of showing what they can do.

They didn't want a handout – just a hand up, to be self-sufficient and not dependent.

We have no alternative but to put up a fight – we couldn't live with ourselves if we abandoned our workforce after they have helped to build one of the best recycling companies in the country.

Several awards testify to the above fact and our commercial performance is exemplary – we have confidence in our future sustainability.

We do not want to be seen as a charity. We, like those we employ, stand on our record and just want to carry on working.

We cannot fight alone – we need the support of the community we serve. The Courier has always been supportive and recent reporting shows the paper has not lost interest in us! Thank you.

Chris Haddock