TRUANCY -- SO the Government is going to cut benefits to the families of habitual truants who, while they are playing truant, are out shoplifting, bashing up grannies for their pensions, joy-riding, smashing up and burning out cars, vandalising, etc., and consequently, due to lack of education, become a future burden on the state.

The do-gooders are again saying the poorest will be hit in their pocket since the money will be taken away from those who need it most. The reasoning here seems to be that you should be allowed to commit the offence because you cannot afford the penalty.

There is too much of this cock-eyed reasoning about and the results are not hard to see. No one would be hit in the pocket if these kids were where they were supposed to be - in school.

In case anyone thinks I belong to the favoured few, I belong to the group of people (all feeling as I do) considered one of the poorest - the pensioners. - Margaret Green, Bishop Auckland.

SO Tony Blair is going to ensure that more police time is used up getting truants back to school.

Parents losing benefits because of their children will begin to accept the loss of income, just as motorists accept paying fines, tax and high fuel prices and, of course, prostitutes take on an extra couple of customers to pay for their fines. Real criminals must be cheered by the news.

Pre-war, each school had a bobby who pedalled his bike around the area with a list of pupils missing from school, checking on any kids in the streets. Whatever happened to him? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

DIANE PRETTY

YOUR comment (Echo, Apr 30) suggests that a decision by one person can place an intolerable burden on another person to follow suit, making the issue that none of us has the right to think for ourselves and that to think for ourselves is morally wrong.

Such inconsistent and irrational thinking is irrelevant and has no basis for interfering in the wishes and needs of Diane Pretty.

Diane Pretty has shown great courage and is certainly not a foolish, selfish individual. She has been given a lot of time for reflection and her condition does not need sympathy, but an understanding based on her own decision and compassion from a society that is showing anything but.

We continually hear the high moral ground from those so-called intellectual, cultured classes, whose basis for compassion is arrogance and authority. Religion has proved over the centuries to be a failure in helping us to live in peace and harmony, yet it can find so many good reasons to make us suffer under the pretence of a merciful God. If God was so merciful why do people suffer so and society accepts it? - John Young, Crook.

PETER MULLEN

AS ever, Peter Mullen (Echo, Apr 30) over-simplifies the situation by saying that if immigrants are illegal, then they should not be here.

Perhaps he does not realise how hard it can be for a genuine refugee to enter this country legally. Does he expect someone who has fled his home without possessions or papers to go to the very authorities who seek to imprison, torture or kill him and say: "I've had enough of you lot. Can I have a passport and a plane ticket to England, please?"

With regards to his remarks on the Middle East, I suggest he either spends some time in the region or devotes himself to studying some of the many impartial and well researched books on the subject

Meanwhile, perhaps we could be spared any more of his simplistic, one-sided and bellicose commentary lest he brings the Church of England, The Northern Echo and journalism in general into further disrepute. - Pete Winstanley, Durham.

DENE VALLEY

WE thank Mike Amos for his report (Echo, Apr 18). We appreciate any publicity in the Dene Valley. I must point out, however, some anomalies in the report.

The group of which John Raw has been secretary for the last four-and-a-half years is known as the Residents' Action Group and not the Dene Valley Residents' Association. I shall be succeeding John as the next secretary.

I must point out that Win Dines and not myself continues in the chairperson's position, which she has ably performed over the last three-and-a-half years.

Dene Valley is now composed of eight villages, which are in the Dene Valley ward of Wear Valley District Council. We must thank our dedicated councillors of our ward, Margaret Ingledew and Chris Foote Wood, for the hard work that they have done in contributing to the greatly improved environment which we have achieved. We also thank Wear Valley District Council for working so hard on our behalf.

May I add that John Raw has performed excellently in helping to get residents once again interested in the area. We thank him for his valuable support in the past and also hope that he will continue to support the Dene Valley Partnership. - J. Morland, Bishop Auckland.

THE EURO

IN response to R Stephenson (HAS May 2) regarding the impact of the euro, I too have just returned from Majorca after spending a wonderful week there.

I found that prices were very reasonable. Eating out and drinks were all cheaper than in this country. The taxi fare from Palma Airport across the island, a distance of over 50 miles, was £35. This is about half the fare I would pay in this country for a taxi.

Can R Stephenson tell me where in this country I can find a three star luxury hotel overlooking a pretty harbour, complete with landscaped swimming pool and air conditioning throughout, for £15 a night for half board with live entertainment every evening?

I don't know where R Stephenson has been to in Majorca but my findings are very different to his and I would recommend Majorca to anyone in this country for a reasonably priced holiday. The weather is better most of the time too. - Terence Jobling, Durham City.

BIRDS OF PREY

I FULLY agree with all that R K Bradley says on birdlife (HAS, Apr 26), but feel he is wasting his time trying to reason with the Aubrey Adamsons of this world: their mind being made up without need of facts or realities.

One of the realities being that nearly all, if not all, of the birds preyed upon, are in turn, predators, taking their prey where they can of worms, insects, etc. If not purely carnivores, they are at least opportunist omnivores.

One of the reasons for the decline of those birds is that there is not enough of their natural food and habitat for them and Aubrey Adamson, wrongly, attributes that decline to upper predators such as the sparrowhawk. He looks at the wrong end of the food chain. It is at the base where the fault lies.

However, we need not despair as others as Aubrey Adamson and his ilk will read our letters in the Echo just as we read his and will draw their own conclusions.

Some will believe Aubrey Adamson, but I don't think many. - R. Lewis, Birtley.

BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS

WHEN I was young, TB was very common and blamed on poor housing and overcrowding, yet they pen cattle in small byres so they cannot run, chain dairy cattle in the byres 40 or 50 a time in the winter and when they come out to grass they find the cows have TB - then they blame the poor old badger.

Should the farmers not blame themselves for poor housing and overcrowding for TB?- Stanley Bowden, West Cornforth