METRIC MARTYRS: THE Government is quite right to crack down on these so-called Metric Martyrs. It is disgusting that they should sell bananas in pounds and ounces.

The police should also be taken to task for describing any suspect as being five foot six, when they are really one metre point so many micros or six foot instead of two metres.

The NHS also seems to be out of touch as the maternity wards still produce babies in pounds and ounces and mothers seem to insist on not giving birth to babies who are two kilograms. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

LAW AND ORDER

HOW can MPs waste so many parliamentary hours on banning foxhunting even though the fox has a good chance of escaping, yet ignore the plight of abused elderly people tied to their house and street by fear?

The ordinary Labour person does not want to know about the euro or even Europe. They are proud of being British and want to live a life without fear.

This Government is tackling crime like an unwanted tree that's having a few branches removed instead of cutting the roots away.

Let us return to a Labour Party that is for the British people. - DA Patton, Ferryhill.

IT is a matter of gravest concern that some areas of our cities and larger towns appear to be dominated by armed gangs.

The recent episode of teenagers caught in the crossfire and witnesses refusing to speak, sounds more like something from the American wild west of the 1800s than England in 2003.

Far from our population progressing to become more civilised, we seem to be sinking rapidly into lawlessness and a gun culture; a way of life which should have died out well over a century ago.

Who are these armed gangs? Why are they rampaging through the streets shooting each other and anyone else who gets in the way? News reports are not entirely clear on the matter. Why?

We surely have the right to know why our towns and cities are becoming no-go areas for decent living, peaceful citizens. It is high time the situation was brought into the open, the gangs disarmed and removed from society. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

COUNCIL SERVICES

I AM old enough to remember, 30 years ago, when we had a decent service from Durham County Council.

Main roads were gritted in the winter and then minor roads were gritted after that. The paths outside old people's bungalows were cleaned. We don't have the winters we used to have then and they lasted a lot longer than they do now.

Now we don't have any minor roads gritted at all. Also how often do you see the council clearing the gully drains out? The roads and paths are a mess.

I would like to know what the council does with all the revenue it gets from the council tax payer.

It is coming to that time of year when we will be having another big tax rise and we get less and less done from the council apart from spending money on computers, etc for themselves.

I think it is about time this council got its act together and gave the council tax payer good value for their money. - H Dalby, Durham.

EUROPE

DAVID J Whittaker (HAS, Jan 3) makes the astonishing claim that the euro is working well. However, further bad news from the eurozone economies over the New Year period make these claims look absurd.

The President of the ECB, Wim Duisenberg, has admitted that the euro caused price rises and the largest consumer association in France has reported that the weekly shopping basket for the average French consumer has gone up by ten per cent.

In Italy, shoppers have totally failed to get to grips with the new currency, even after a year, and the government is planning to reintroduce the dual pricing system which forces shops and businesses to display prices in both euros and liras.

The latest figures from both France and Germany show rising unemployment and all the signs are that the euro is both forcing up prices and damaging some economies. Is this what the pro-euro lobby is advocating for Britain?

To use the lower prices of some goods in the eurozone as an argument for joining the euro, as Mr Whittaker does, is clearly ridiculous. Price differences between countries exist, not because of being in or out of the euro, but because of differing levels of regulation, taxation, and distribution costs between countries.

Economic times are tough, but Britain is well placed to weather any global downturn by keeping control of our economy and interest rates. The British economy is doing well outside the euro and business is benefiting from the economic stability we have achieved. The quickest way to ruin this would be to give up control over our economy by replacing the pound. - Steve Maughan, Council Member, Business for Sterling.

PEOPLE are talking rubbish if they say the euro would be good for us?

The German people want to go back to the mark as the euro is causing a big inflation in prices for the nation, plus they are now looking at over four and a half million people being unemployed plus the total collapse of their social services.

The same is happening in France, where unemployment is soaring.

In Italy and other nations, which have been kidded to accept the euro, it has been a complete disaster.

Come on folks, take your blinkers off. - F Wealands, Darlington.