POLICE: WE are so short of police officers in Darlington that there are not enough officers to man their own patch. It was suggested by an officer that I write to the Ombudsman with a complaint about my incident.

We live in Darlington's West End. There was a horrendous bang on the side door and, on investigating, black electric tape had been wrapped around the door knob and the wrought iron railings.

I rang the police number. They took four phone calls to answer. They said it was a change of shift and someone would be round in a Panda car in ten minutes.

Then stones were hurled at our house - there are marks on the black paint on our door where they hit it.

These youths could have easily been caught if the policeman had arrived quickly - but they did not come at all.

Eventually, I rang the police again and they've said that the beat officer will ring us tomorrow. They said that if he doesn't get me by noon we should ring him. What kind of police service is this?

The officers I have spoken to agree that they are so overworked. We accept that they have to prioritise, but this is not good enough. - Name supplied, Darlington.

POLITICS

I READ with amusement the recent letter by J Lethbridge (HAS, Aug 21), attacking Labour.

Each time we are lumbered with the Tories we pay dearly for it. Steps must be taken to ensure they never return. Here's my suggestion.

Make the Tories take a memory test about their 15 per cent interest rates, record mortgage repossessions and business failures, ten per cent inflation; four million unemployed on benefits, levels of poverty not seen since the 1930s; schools, hospitals in decline. The poll tax, more VAT. Virtually no Tory MPs from the North, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland in anarchy. Remember the Cabinet jail birds Aitken and Archer. Their in-fighting - Major versus Redwood and the "brown envelope" - how grubby.

The comments of J Lethbridge sum up Labour's opponents: offering no real policies or ideas, just sarcasm. Now we enjoy low mortgages, more jobs, minimum wage, new schools and hospitals, the Working and Child Tax Credits, more help for pensioners and two record Labour majorities.

I don't think Tony has too much to worry about. - S Tranter, Yarm.

WEAR VALLEY HOUSING

REPORTS (Echo, Aug 20 and 21) have highlighted financial problems within the housing department of Wear Valley District Council.

Council spokesmen state the need to save money and stay within a set budget. Would the council explain to the Wear Valley taxpayers questions asked by the Audit Commission:

* implications of the suspension of cyclical decoration programme;

* why the overspend of £700,000 in the Housing Revenue Account;

* why £1.7m spent on 220 houses in Crook south?

If any explanations are forthcoming I expect them to be at least ambiguous or the classic "not me, guv". - NA Button, Bishop Auckland.

ID CARDS

F ATKINSON thinks that ID cards are needed to reduce illegal immigration (HAS, Aug 22). The reality is that ID cards, from the Government's own sums, could cost £3bn of our money.

ID cards have been shown to do little to stop illegal immigrants, reduce crime or benefit fraud. Other countries with expensive ID cards have exactly the same problems as we do.

Introducing ID cards would just be an expensive gimmick, wasting money that could be better spent on police, schools or hospitals. - Paul Leake, Durham.

WAY OUT

I'VE just watched a programme called Drop the Celebrity, in which TV presenters played Chuting Stars as they were dropped from the back of an aeroplane after being voted out of a new-style game show.

Why can't we do the same with a production called Drop The Celebrity Politicians? - Derek W Hall, Hartlepool.

LICENCE FEE

R JOHNSON suggests (HAS, July 28) that only a fraction of the TV licence fee goes to the BBC as the bulk of it is claimed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The facts are made clear in the BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2003. Here we find that the BBC employs an agency to collect the licence fee from the public, and the total collected is paid to the corporation, less a charge made by the agency for its services.

Currently this charge is just over five per cent of the total collected, but the Exchequer has no claim on the remainder. - Bob Jarratt, Richmond.

PRINCE WILLIAM

J TAGUE (HAS, Aug 18) states a correspondent has confused his dislike of royalty with his 'pretend' love of animals.

How do you know, Mr Tague, that this correspondent did not like to hear of the death of the little dik dik, supposedly killed by Prince William in Africa?

Mr Tague says this correspondent has totally ignored the many injustices in Africa, but it would surely not be possible to go on at length about Africa's problems, which are well known to us all.

William and Harry are gallivanting around Africa and Australia at public expense. It is their duty to represent their country with dignity and decent behaviour.

Am I allowing my anti-Royal feelings to influence my contribution - you bet I am. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.