Letters

TO help the tourist industry in places like the Lake District, the Government should reopen the fells and high tops to walkers.

There are no sheep on the hills at this time of year as they are all in the enclosed low lying fields for lambing and there are plenty of ways directly from roads up on to the open fells without having to pass through enclosed fields.

Re-opening the high fells would restore the major source of income, bed and breakfast and shops, for many residents and farmers in these areas.

The priority in any foot-and-mouth outbreak is speed of action and not complacency. The whole approach by the Government to the epidemic has been, and still is, one of inaction and too little too late and Nick Brown and the Government should consider resigning. - RW Alexander, Darlington.

PARKING

CONGRATULATIONS to Darlington Council. In one fell swoop it has managed to alienate just about anyone who might ever want to visit the place - let alone work here.

I can just about swallow the 25 per cent rise in a weekly parking ticket, but can someone tell me the logic in reducing the number of spaces by what must be 60 per cent?

With only short-term parking left after 8.45am, staff taking advantage of "family friendly" flexible hours now have to spend up to £32 per week to park - either that or dump the kids at school an hour before the playground even opens.

No doubt we'll be told it's all intended to encourage us to dump our cars in favour of public transport, but let's get real here. By increasing the number of short-stay spaces it is actually encouraging more cars. And does the council really believe that only "locals" work in Darlington?

So if the council can show me how I can take my son to school, use public transport for work, and still be on time then I'll do it. But I'll bet you £32 a week it can't. - J Gibson, Stockton.

ONE PARTY STATE

THE idea of a coalition with no opposition put forward by AW Dunn (HAS, Mar 31) seems on the face of it a good idea.

That is until one looks at countries who have eliminated their political opponents and invoked a one party state. Think of the 1930s. Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia all ended up with dictators, and if you disagreed with those in power guess what happened? Millions killed by Lenin and Stalin. Hitler and Mussolini tried to take over the whole of Europe and possibly the world by force, killing unknown millions.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. No dictator will resign and let someone else take the power, unless it is a member of their family, a son etc.

In a democracy everyone has a say in their lifestyle. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

PETER MANDELSON

IN maintaining political neutrality, will The Northern Echo afford other candidates the platform given to Peter Mandelson in the parliamentary elections for the Hartlepool constituency? - A Kelly, Ferryhill.

WIND FARMS

THE plan for Northern Electric to develop an offshore wind farm off Redcar is most welcome.

I note that it is in line with our party's regional policy and also the Government's target for ten per cent of UK electrical needs to be met by 2010.

I think Teesside is ideally placed to provide support for the project during the constructional and operational phases of the wind farm. - S Wilson, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Redcar.

BUS TOKENS

DARLINGTON council advised all pensioners to use all existing tokens before March 31, or hand them in to the council, without a refund.

I went to the Arriva travel shop on March 28 to purchase explorer tickets, which a friend had informed me was how she had used her tokens.

I was told by the young lady assistant at Arriva that the council had stopped them from issuing explorer tickets for tokens about two weeks previously.

Doesn't this seem very unfair when the final date was March 31, that some people gained and some people lost out. - Name and address supplied.

PETER MULLEN

SINCE I was a child The Northern Echo would drop through our letter box each morning, and still does today.

This fine newspaper has had some great writers contributing to its pages over the years and has gained acclaim for its crusading editors, one of whom, WT Stead, went down with the Titanic.

Some of your present-day journalists are carrying on with your traditions and earning their fair share of awards and your paper is still the best regional newspaper in the country.

Sadly, there is one blot on your journalistic landscape, your Tuesday columnist Peter Mullen.

What exactly is he? Is he supposed to be a comedian? Is he writing a Tory political column? Is he a vicar? But are not clergymen supposed to stay clear of politics?

Whatever he is, he is a very poor writer and is not up to the standard required by The Northern Echo. - Jason Bradley, Haswell, County Durham.

NHS DIRECT

NHS Direct, which amalgamated with the Health Information Service, provides an excellent service.

I had a bad abdominal pain from a long-standing condition. I rang NHS Direct for advice which I very much needed. I was referred to the duty doctor, a young lady who advised me on medication for the pain and offered reassurance.

Thank God for our caring professionals. Truly Good Samaritans still exist in the world. - Norah Atkinson, Newton Aycliffe.

HARRY MEAD

IN Harry Mead's column (Echo, Apr 3), it was stated that the number of sheep movements in the fortnight before the foot-and-mouth outbreak was detected was 1.3 billion, instead of 1.3 million.