THE story last Saturday concerning the death of Leslie Belcher, the man who received an antisocial behaviour order after causing trouble to his neighbours in East Oxford, led to a number of complaints.

Some readers defended Mr Belcher, who died at the Lucy Faithfull Centre in Speedwell Street, and felt the article did not reflect the man they knew.

They also felt it caused distress for his family, including his daughter Sian .

While the Oxford Mail’s position remains that this was an accurate article that was legitimate to publish given his impact on the community and was clearly of interest to readers, we are sorry the family were upset.

The story covered Mr Belcher’s recent appearances in court related to the Asbo as this gave context to why his death was reported.

Critics saying the article was an attempt to vilify Mr Belcher will be unaware other archive material was not published as it would have been out of context to the Asbo.

We are happy, though, to publish some of the comments about those who had fond memories of the 51-year-old.

M Cook, from Marston, wrote: “I knew Les for a long time as a kind, thoughtful friend of my son. He liked a joke like any other chap but he was so put down by society. He was respected also by a lot more.”

Rob Silverstone, from Brighton, said: “I spent my youth in Oxford and remember him as a flamboyant figure in the heyday of punk. He might not have been a goody-two shoes but I knew him as a terrific fun-loving character, who embodied the free spirit of those times.”

Sophie Willis added: “The Les I knew had a heart of gold and was such a kind man, always with a smile on his face and he absolutely adored his daughter who was his life!”

And from Deborah Golden: “I am not in anyway condoning Les’s behaviour in the later years of his life but there are two sides to every story and Les was not all bad.

“The Les I knew years ago was a really good friend, with a big heart, and full of life.Addiction is an illness and Les’s life was blighted by addiction and most of his behaviour was a consequence of this.”

AN article on Monday about a charity skydive quoted Nick Rowland as saying an instructor used a knife to cut away his parachute when it got tangled. The instructor in fact used a cord to release the parachute before deploying the reserve.