IMMIGRATION: IN reply to the letter from F Atkinson (HAS, Apr 28), detailing fears that immigration would put a strain on social services, hospitals and other services, I would like to make the following points.

Firstly, according to official figures there are currently 11,000 foreign teachers working in our schools.

Secondly, if it wasn't for foreign nurses and doctors the NHS would probably just about be collapsing now. After all, every foreign doctor who comes to work here saves the NHS £200,000 in the training of a new one, at a time when it appears less British graduates want to become doctors.

Lastly, I can't help but notice that the threatened flood of immigrants from Eastern Europe which we were promised after May 1 and the accession of ten new states hasn't materialised. - Peter Sagar, Gosforth.

RAILWAYS

JAMES Sherwood's call for huge cuts in regional rail lines (Echo, May 4) really does beggar belief.

Many of these lines certainly do require public subsidy, but besides serving rural communities and small towns, they contribute significantly to tourism and act as feeders to main line services.

With better marketing to enhance earnings and reductions in engineering costs their financial performance could be improved markedly.

Beeching demonstrated that closing regional branch lines does not make the rest of the system profitable.

All that happens is that communities become isolated and those that are able simply resort to cars for their journeys.

It is significant that at Caernarvon, Keswick and Ripon, to name but three, all places denuded of their rail lines by Beeching, there are currently active campaigns for the restoration of the rail links.

Why? Because the people of those towns have discovered that life (and its quality) is better with the train than without.

It would be good for us all if Mr Sherwood got back to running his container ships and left rail policy to those who understand that regional railways play an important part in our transport network. - Anthony Walker, Durham.

POSTAL SERVICES

ROYAL Mail watchdog Postwatch has claimed that over 14.4 million letters are 'lost' every single year.

At the same time the Government has imposed all-postal voting on the North-East for European and local council elections.

It seems that the only way to be sure that votes will be counted will be to drop them off at council offices, further away than our normal polling stations.

Proof indeed that 'modernisation' and 'progress' are not the same thing. - Paul Leake, Durham.

MARGARET THATCHER

MAGGIE Thatcher was a great leader for the United Kingdom.

Her bulldog spirit has gone down in history, and the Conservative Party has not been the same since her departure.

On May 4, I raised a cup of tea in honour of the Iron Lady. How I wish that Great Britain had a leader like her today.

She suffered no nonsense, and put the values of the British people first, which is what our government is supposedly elected to do. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

PLAYGROUNDS

THE last week has seen The Northern Echo, either unwittingly or not, highlight the uncoordinated rhetoric emanating from Wear Valley District Council regarding the closure of playgrounds.

It's about the safety of children. Really, if a child is in danger, then why wait? Surely, anything deemed dangerous would be immediately removed.

No, no, it's about the threat litigation. So what we'll do is remove low-risk toddler equipment, and install high-risk assault course style zip lines and an unsupervised skate park, normally viewed as an extreme sport.

It's about managing risk, yeah right. How many self-inflicted incidents already? All related to poor maintenance and ambitious equipment.

Well really Jim, it's about reducing stock to a manageable level, irrespective of how safe they are. Your report (Echo, May 5) states a new proposed estate will have a new playground or will provide towards one.

A consultation period commences by announcing the saviour of two threatened playgrounds, no reasons offered, none provided when asked, only don't expect consultation to mean meeting the parents and residents - it won't, I've asked!

Wear Valley District Council - pay more, for less... and don't dare complain! - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

WIND FARM

AFTER attending a meeting at Stanley village hall concerning the proposed wind farm at Stanley Moss I urge Stanley residents not to be complacent. If the wind farm gets the go ahead, it will open the flood gates. More wind turbines are proposed nearer to Stanley and at Oakenshaw.

We will be surrounded, the prevailing winds will blow the noise towards our village, it may be heard day and night. House prices could drop.

After years of opencast mining we are just seeing the landscape recovering. The Deerness Walkway is a beautiful tourist attraction for ramblers and horse riders. Why spoil our area? We do not want wind turbines, which may be bigger than the ones at nearby Tow Law blotting our landscape.

Would the councillors or planning officer be happy with them on their doorstep? I think not. - M Fishburn, Stanley Crook.

MOTORCYCLISTS

AS an ex-motorcyclist, I was surprised by the letter from Richard Dobson (HAS, May 6).

One has only to drive between Stokesley and Helmsley, or anywhere between Leyburn and Ingleton, on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the legal limit of 60mph when one is likely to be overtaken by a stream of motorcyclists for whom speed limits are a minor irrelevance.

Obviously, not all motorcyclists are in this category, but there is a large element who qualify.

One must wonder what is the point of 'educating' this minority of often middle-aged men. They obviously know what they are doing is breaking the speed limit set for the general road user. I suppose if one has a machine capable of over 170mph, 60mph will seem like little more than standing still.

The machinery may have improved immensely, but human reaction times have not. Perhaps race tracks ought to be opened to them occasionally so that they can indulge their ways at no danger to the general public. - Eric Gendle, Nunthorpe.