Sir, - The Boundary Committee is at the final consultation stage of its review of North Yorkshire County Council divisions, which they suspended last June. I would like the residents of Hutton Rudby and surrounding villages in the district council Rudby Ward to be aware that they are being put unto a new division called North Hambleton, which would stretch from Hutton Rudby to Brompton. This would cut the current electoral link with Stokesley.

I do not believe that this division would serve the best interest of Hutton Rudby or for that matter Brompton. Hutton Rudby has a natural link with Stokesley and the electoral boundaries should reflect this. The Boundary Committee appears more eager to satisfy the numbers game with their proposed boundaries than community interest.

We have until July 12 to send comments to the Boundary Committee. Their address is: North Yorkshire County Council Review, Boundary Committee for England, Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, London, SW1P 2HW.

COUNTY COUN CAROLINE SEYMOUR

White House Farm,

Stokesley.

Boundary bias

Sir, - The Boundary Committee has proposed two options for the way forward for local government in North Yorkshire. A recent article (Super Council would be £21m cheaper, May 28) gave a very biased view of these proposals.

This article was written by D&S Times staff, but appeared to be based on the views of North Yorkshire County Council. The quotes were from John Weighell, leader of the county council. Only one sentence mentioned the other option, an amalgamation of district councils.

The views of Stokesley Parish Council are that the article had no balance and gave the impression that the single unitary authority proposal is the preferred option. This is not the case. The voters will decide which of two equal options they prefer.

MRS M D STEWART

Clerk to Stokesley Parish

Council,

Town Hall,

Stokesley.

Bug-less

Sir, - I am doing the RSPB bug count, complete with "slapometer" and I get some odd looks when people see a mature woman count the bugs before wiping them off her car number plate.

Be that as it may, I am a bit concerned about some of my results.

After lunch on Thursday, June 17, I drove 17 miles from Ingleton to Barningham. My count was two bugs on my number plate on the outward journey and nil on the return.

Apart from driving through Barnard Castle and a brief distance on the A66, most of the journey was on roads surrounded by farmland, some with hay-making in progress.

I'm not clever enough to analyse my findings, but I'm sensible enough to realise that something is amiss. My journeys through Teesdale are also showing poor counts.

JUNE LUCKHURST

Springwell,

Ingleton.

Enterprising

Sir, - The DST (June 11) reported that Darlington entrepreneur, John Middleton, had rightly received a three-month reduction of his prison sentence.

The somewhat seedy caravan site on the A1 was hardly a suitable setting for high jinks, merriment and glee!

However, his emporium in North Road was clearly popular with the punters, as the alleged takings of £900,000 indicate. John and his 20 tarts might just save Darlington FC.

What a sports page headline: "Ravers ride to Quakers' rescue".

I am not one of his clients, but suggest that a town councillor or other local notable nominate Mr Middleton for the Queen's Award for Enterprise!

BILL WEIGHTMAN

Kantara,

Hurgill Road,

Richmond.

Theft from UK

Sir, - Had I not had to get someone to sign my witness form in the recent postal vote, my voting form would have been completed and in the post within ten minutes of it arriving at my house.

I voted for the UK Independence Party because I, like them and many other people, want to get this country out of the corrupt French-run system which is being run by a French president who is using his position to avoid charges, as did his predecessor.

According to the UKIP, the UK pays into this system £25m every day.

If this money was kept within the UK and used properly, it would easily allow for many improvements in our current third world NHS, education, pensions, transport and social services systems - not to mention a large cut in income tax.

You would no longer read about people having to go to America for life-saving operations.

I am sure that your readers will remember the mass sacking of the whole group of EC commissioners in 1999 because of their knowledge of, but inaction over, the massive amount of fraud going on, currently £60m per year. Indeed the auditors appointed by the EC have refused to pass the accounts as correct for the past seven years. Apart from the fraud another huge sum of money, currently estimated at £5m, simply goes missing every year.

Neil Kinnock, a vice-chairman of the EC, was appointed to clear up this mess and stated: "I shall show no tolerance of any form or misbehaviour or fraud and I will put in place effective anti fraud systems." This was in 1999. Since then he has done nothing and the amount of money stolen gets bigger every year.

Let us get out of this corrupt system as quickly as we can and use British people's money for the benefit of British people.

P WEAVER

The Maltings,

Sowerby.

Up in the air

Sir, - Congratulations to the County Durham airfield (Fishburn) on being awarded the Flyer magazine's airfield of the year title. Mind you, I can now see the pilot of a large passenger jet landing there and saying: "Excuse me, is this Durham-Tees Valley?"

VIC SMITH

14 Westholme,

Hutton Rudby.