TEESDALE BEAR: I WOULD like to give a massive thank-you to the person who dressed as the Teesdale Bear and campaigned so fervently against circuses which still include animals in their acts (Echo, Aug 1).

Wild animals should not be made to live unnatural lives in unnatural environments, being hauled around the country in cages that are much too small, for our entertainment.

In a civilised society, animals have no place in captivity, and certainly not in circuses. Please let's leave them in their natural environment where they should be. - Yvonne Lilley, Birmingham.

IT IS wonderful to read of the lone campaigner who bravely protested against the Peter Jolly circus that was visiting Barnard Castle. Circuses are no places for animals. Thank you lone campaigner and thank you Northern Echo for reporting it. - Sue Cole, Norwich.

I FEEL I have to congratulate the principled lady who dressed in a bear costume to make her protest. There is nothing jolly about animal circuses. They belong in the history books, from the Victorian era when we knew no better.

Circuses train their animals with brutality, beating animals into submission and breaking their spirit. Many should take a leaf out of the lady's book. Don't pass by on the other side of the road, do what you feel is ethically right. Don't leave the protesting to someone else. - Dave Kennedy, Environmental Investigation Agency member.

RE: bear protest. How impressed I was. Standing up for one's beliefs is not always easy, particularly in the face of opposition, yet it is the only way to bring about change.

And make no mistake about it, with regard to circus animals, change is needed and it is needed quickly.

The practicalities of touring with a circus make sufficient provision for animal welfare impossible, even with the best of intentions - and the best of intentions are frequently absent. - Eloise Harding, End Circus Cruelty, Nottingham.

GOODONYA, as we say here in Oz. And down with circuses with animals. - Mr and Mrs T B Robinson, Bowral, New South Wales, Australia.

TRAFFIC WORRIES

THE Cummins Engine Company, Darlington, is right to be worried about the extra traffic which would be generated in Yarm Road and around Morton Palms if a merged Hurworth/Eastbourne School is built beside it (Echo, July 30).

As the Save Hurworth and Rural Education (Share) group showed the previous week, the Morton Palms/A66 roundabout will not be able to cope with the additional traffic the large school will generate at peak times. And that's not taking account of the traffic generated by Whessoe's move and other possible developments.

What do other major employers in the area (Orange, Cleveland Bridge, Darlington Building Society and Morrison's) think about this?

The borough council is starting a lengthy consultation about the relocation proposal. Opponents of the relocation of Hurworth School have to hope the council will listen to views of Share and others.

Traffic, of course, is just one issue. Preserving high educational standards and keeping the heartbeat (a successful and vibrant secondary school) of Hurworth village are even more important. - Sylvia Warne, Hurworth.

KIND DONATION

THE members of Durham Ladies Club would like to thank Duck - Durham University Charities Kommittee - for their kind donation to our club.

It is very rewarding to know that these young people studying at our university can still offer their time to raise money to help others and have not forgotten the older residents of this city. They can rest assured that the money will be spent wisely.

Durham Ladies Club meets every fortnight at 2pm on Wednesdays in the Shakespeare Hall, North Road, Durham and, on September 7, will be celebrating its 50th birthday.

Old and new members will be made very welcome. - DA Flynn, Secretary, Durham Ladies Club.

DANGEROUS PLACE

OH, for the days of PC 49 or Dixon of Dock Green. Bobbies on bicycles two by two, as the song goes.

PCs now wear body armour and carry guns. There are scenes of violence, weapons and methods used against terrorists and criminals that PC 49 and Dixon probably never dreamt of.

This world is a dangerous place. Who can blame so many of us longing for the way it used to be?

It's not sentimentality. It's a heartfelt cry for people everywhere to come to their senses. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

SPORT COVERAGE

IT IS with regret that I put pen to paper to highlight an appalling lack of coverage of some of the UK's most popular sports in your newspaper. Indeed, if The Northern Echo (July 25) is to be believed, Germany is more important/popular/newsworthy and interesting than Britain.

I refer to the articles reporting the British Moto Gp (Motorcycling) and the German F1 Grand Prix. The article covering events at Donnington Park in the East Midlands lasted for only 83 words, yet the German event covers almost a third of a page.

Why such poor coverage of the most prestigious race in the British motorcycling calendar?

Motorcycling is ten times more popular than F1 and continues to grow. After all, 30,000 spectators at Croft for the British Superbikes can't be wrong, neither can the 80,000 who braved the conditions at Donnington to witness a thrilling wet weather race, of which I was one.

Even Darlington and Hartlepool in meaningless pre-season friendlies earned greater coverage. - Graeme R Hopkirk, Darlington.

WHORLTON LIDO

ON reading a letter on Whorlton Lido (HAS, Aug 1) I must write in support of the writer.

I remember in the 1950s, 60s and 70s when men worked for meagre wages and, at holiday times, couldn't afford to take their families to Barbados and those far-flung destinations. They put a little money away and bought a second-hand, or fourth-hand, car.

When the holidays came around, they loaded the wife and the three or four kids into the car and took off to Seaton Carew or Redcar for the day or, mostly, to Whorlton Lido where they thought they were in paradise with a picnic on the grass.

It seems a great pity that these children, now grown adults, can't revisit the happy days they spent there long ago.

I just can't understand how people think they have the right to buy these beautiful places just to keep other people away.

Does that mean if a mega, mega, mega rich man bought the world, would we all have to get off? - Fred Wallis, Barnard Castle.

SMOKE-FREE CITY

KAUNAS, the second city in Lithuania, has had a no-smoking area in its centre for 15 years or more.

The area stretches for some 400 metres throughout its principal traffic-free pedestrian zone.

The central fountain was clean and devoid of all the usual wind-blown detritus. It was most refreshing to see a busy city centre free of discarded cigarette ends, matches, cigarette packets and, coincidentally, no chewing gum. - Peter Sotheran, Redcar.