Cllr Steve Darling recently ­complained to the licensing authority about two taxi drivers who refused to take his guide dog in their cars.

While I obviously extend all sympathy to the blind/visually impaired, I wonder if he reciprocates such feelings to people with other disabilities, such as myself and my two daughters, all asthmatics for whom dogs, or more accurately a certain protein in the ‘dander’ from dogs, is a serious trigger for an asthma attack.

I am not exaggerating the dangers. There are now more than five million asthmatics in the UK and for many this can be a trigger. I’m sure most ­people will be aware of the tragic case in the press recently of an asthmatic girl in Newcastle who went to a house party where there was a dog and within minutes she was having an asthma attack, from which she never recovered. This is not an isolated case – there are around 1,400 deaths a year in the UK from asthma attacks – more than three a day.

I am also not exaggerating when I say that my daughters and I are discriminated against on a daily basis. We cannot go into any establishments where there might be dogs, so in Brixham that means practically all cafes, pubs, restaurants, many shops and, quite ­disgracefully, given that we help pay for it through local taxes, Brixham Museum.

So for us it is critical that if we use the services of a taxi, we need to know there have been no dogs in the vehicle for some considerable time before, as the dander remains for quite a while. This is true in a room, let alone in such a confined space as a car. For us, the consequences can be not just one of inconvenience, but a potential serious health issue.

I wrote to Cllr Darling’s wife recently (also a councillor), and I would ask him the same as I asked his wife, which is: in his capacity as a local politician, to work towards having the law changed to end this discrimination against asthmatic people such as myself and my ­daughters. The devil, as always, is in the detail, but certainly establishments that are large enough could be made to have dog-free areas, with smaller places having dog-free days, while I see no reason at all why some taxis could allow dogs and some be dog-free.

This would be of great ­benefit not just for those asthma suffers for whom dog dander is a serious trigger, but also for the many people with other ­respiratory afflictions for whom dog dander can result in a worsening of their condition.

Jean Williams

New Road, Brixham