RED MARAUDER

MAY I thank Norman Mason, owner-trainer of Grand National winner Red Marauder, for inviting my two friends and myself to their recent celebration party.

When we arrived at his Manor House stables, near Brancepeth, to do some photographs we were treated like one of the family.

The North should be proud of Mr Mason's and jockey Richard Quest's achievements by winning one of the greatest races in the world, which turned out to be one of the most amazing ones ever seen worldwide and one that will be remembered for many years to come.

As an amateur photographer for over 30 years, I never thought in my wildest dreams that one day I would ever take photographs of a Grand National winner.

All this was only made possible by the goodwill and generosity of Mr Mason. It was a very emotional morning for my two friends and myself and as a pleasant surprise to be invited to their celebrations. - Jack Amos, Willington.

NEW POLICIES

SO Michael Lathan (HAS, Apr 11) thinks Tony Blair has adopted Tory policies. He couldn't be further from the truth.

This Labour Government has introduced the first ever National Minimum Wage which the Tories described as an "immoral policy".

Pensioners benefit from a £200 Winter Fuel payment, free TV licences for over 75s and a Minimum Income Guarantee for our poorest pensioners. The Tories would scrap the lot.

There have been record increases in Child Benefit for seven million families and a Working Families Tax Credit benefiting more than one million families which the Tories would axe.

More than a million more people are in work with the help of the New Deal. A new 10p starting rate of tax has halved the tax bill for 1.8 million low paid workers and we have the lowest long term interest rates for 35 years and lowest inflation for 30 years.

The threat from the Tories is a £16bn cut of public services and a return to a boom and bust economy. In contrast the Labour Government is implementing policies based on decency, social justice, reward for hard work and a stable economy. - M Bennett, Durham City Labour Group.

CORONATION STREET

DAVID Jenkins, the former Bishop of Durham (HAS, Apr 16) needs to come into the 21st Century as a member of the church and get in touch with reality.

Coronation Street's rape sends out a message, particularly to the young. We are not living in an innocent world where nasty things do not happen - rape would now appear to be a part of everyday life when you read the newspapers or watch the television and children should not be sheltered and left in ignorance but warned.

It is no wonder the church is in the state it is in when a bishop can not come to terms with reality.

Soaps are a mirror of the society we live in. The majority of people in real life go to church for christenings, marriages and funerals - I don't believe I have ever seen soap characters as regular church-goers.

The street producers strike a good balance between entertainment and moral issues, which is something the church doesn't seem to be able to do. - JW Hewitson, Newton Aycliffe.

PEOPLE POWER

THE electorate of the Sedgefield Parliamentary constituency must realise that they have, at the forthcoming election, the power to save this country from the fatal ambitions of their present Member of Parliament with the collusion of his minions. I do not and I am sure they do not want a European currency, a republic with him as president, powers delegated to the bureaucrats of Europe, our laws and customs diminished by any European court.

We are firstly English, secondly British and quite capable of managing our own affairs without the intrusion from outside. - Bill Webster, Morecambe.

PROSTITUTION LICENCES

IT is estimated that if prostitution was legalised then, with licence fees and income tax, the money the Government would receive would be about £250m to £300m - but that is only the financial gain.

The real profit would be that "Red Light" areas in most towns would disappear, more police time could be centred on real criminals, there would be no discarded condoms and drug syringes in residential areas, prostitutes would be safe from murderers, there would be less rape and no kerb crawling. Venereal disease would decline and the NHS would save money on those clinics.

After all how much harm to ordinary citizens would it cause? Far less than the physical assaults caused by drunks after the pubs shut and, of course, far far less than the smokers who puff themselves into the operating theatres and those they have injured by passive smoking.

If a man wants to pay a woman for sex, and a woman wants to give sex for money, only two people are involved which is far less than other activities. Fewer women would be accosted on the streets. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.