PETER LEE

WHAT a good picture of Councillor David Taylor-Gooby, dressed as Peter Lee (Echo, Mar 4). How good it is that the great man is still remembered.

I was a teenager when Peter Lee died in 1935. I remember my grandmother telling me he had, at one time, lodged with her parents. As a young girl still at home, she used to clean his size 16 boots. - Vera Jackson, Darlington.

LAW AND ORDER

OBVIOUSLY David Lythe (HAS, Mar 2) is under some delusion that prison is a deterrent. Not so. Despite Government claims that crime is falling, the prison service is at crisis point, full beyond capacity.

I work in a Young Offenders' Institution (YOI). The majority of the public doesn't know that, once sentenced to certain YOIs, inmates are immediately issued with a 14-inch colour TV each and may soon be given GameBoys - all at the taxpayers' expense.

It is fact that the victims of crime have one support network, viz Victim Support. The perpetrators have many more.

Morale and discipline within this particular YOI are at an all-time low and, on rare occasions when inmates are challenged for their poor behaviour, punishment is rarely severe enough to be described as a deterrent.

This is due to do-gooders and human rights laws, which fail to acknowledge the feelings of the victims, but seem to be more concerned for the welfare of the criminal.

So, while I agree that tagging and weekend lock-ups are not the answer, I also believe that the current trend within the prison service is not the answer either.

Tougher sentences, boot camps or even capital punishment for more heinous crimes, should be put to public referendum.

I am sure Margaret Thatcher would not have had these problems.

The Government should be held accountable for the criminals who return to society and repeatedly re-offend. Then they would be less likely to adopt a softly, softly approach to the crime problem. - Name and address supplied.

COUNCIL TAX

ONCE again the dreaded council tax is landing on our doorsteps and what a shock it is. My bill for a Band C property is up by £118.71, bringing the total to £914.42. If the taxes keep going up at this rate, in nine years I and many others will be paying almost £2,000.

Is it not about time these Labour fat cats sitting in their fancy offices on leather chairs were kicked out of office, as I am sure they are unwilling or unable to control their spending and sit there thinking that it does not matter if they do overspend, the Labour lemmings will vote them back in.

I would guess that we are almost paying in council tax under this Labour Government what we would have done under the poll tax - and there are no Labour protestors on the streets about it.

There are folks out there on low incomes who are paying towards the fat cats' wages.

Finally, why is a Band C property paying £248.61 more than a Band A property? Do I have two bins to empty; do I get two police officers at the door to their one, two fire engines etc? Of course not. And what the parish council does to justify its share of the increase I have yet to determine.

It is about time Labour voters took their heads out of the sand and woke up to what is going on. - JA Cunningham, Trimdon Village.

HAVING set this year's council tax, Sedgefield Borough Council has finally alienated half the voting public in the borough.

If costs have to be saved somewhere, why not start with the Toy Town Police - sorry, the community force. These are only glorified security guards who have no real power of control or respect. Only last month I saw youngsters aged about ten or 11 throwing objects at the community force officers, and then laughing and swearing when they were told off.

The anti-social behaviour by the younger generation in the borough, especially in Shildon and Ferryhill, only goes to prove we need real bobbies on the beat and not these imitations.

If I am expected to pay high council tax, I would like my money to be put to better use. Scrap the community force and pay for real policemen.

I have no political interest. This letter is purely about the sheer waste of money the council insists on spending. - R Davies, Ferryhill.

GALA THEATRE

CONGRATULATIONS to Durham Operatic Society for its splendid performance of Me and My Girl at the Gala Theatre. It was such a professional production - every aspect of the show was excellent. The sheer enjoyment and enthusiasm of the cast was only equalled by that of the audience.

We feel very proud to have the Gala Theatre in Durham. Thank you to all concerned for bringing this to our city. Wonderful. - J Holmes, Coxhoe Ladies Club.

WINDFARM

APART from having a vague feeling that the countryside is best left alone, I have no strong views about the wind turbines which have been functioning near Tow Law for the past few weeks.

But a little bit more information might not come amiss.

I have the impression that the preparatory site works went on for months, involving building an access road a couple of miles long and the expenditure of large amounts of non-renewable fossil fuels and the creation of the sort of greenhouse gases which wind power is supposed to do away with.

And I believe there's talk of open days. Will everyone fill up the car and go and have a look? - TJ Cannam, Crook.

GEORGE BUSH

NOW that big brother Bush is imposing trade tariffs on Europe, in gratitude for our support in Afghanistan, maybe our Government can conveniently forget about any idea of us supporting the US's proposed action on Iraq. - F Atkinson, Shincliffe.

SOUTH PARK

I MUST congratulate Darlington Council on its plans for South Park (Echo, Mar 5). The park, despite its deterioration over the years, has always given so much pleasure to its many visitors.

To have our heritage restored, particularly when funded from outside and not by the hard-pressed taxpayer, is welcome news indeed. - CV Johnson, Darlington.

MEDIA INTRUSION

HOW much longer has the general public to be insulted by the saturated coverage of right-wing media (television and newspapers) which ruins lives and careers of prominent people? I refer to Princess Diana, Peter Mandelson, Neil Hamilton, Stephen Byers, and the amount of pressure put on young sportsmen like Tim Henman and David Beckham.

Why don't these people, who stand around side streets, who wait to thrust microphones and camera lenses into these people's faces, ask themselves why they are not following a more useful occupation? - J Squire, Durham.

PAY RISES

PERCENTAGE pay rises are surely misleading, as a two-and-a-half per cent rise on the Prime Minister's £171,554 salary is around £4,288. Many old age pensioners would have to be awarded over 100 per cent to come anywhere near that sum. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

SPIN

WITH "spin" affecting every part of the Labour machine, I'm struggling to work out whether Stephen Byers was telling the truth about telling lies. - J Tague, Bishop Auckland.