HORSE RIDERS: MY husband and I were out in our car the other day and almost had an accident with a horse and rider.

We were almost on top of them before we saw them. It would be a good idea and sense if it was made law for them to wear the bright jackets that builders and almost all workers are made to wear.

The rider had nothing like that, but dark clothing, and the horse was dark brown.

Horse riders think they own the roads so I think they should make themselves seen.

After all, waistcoats only cost around £5 and that's cheap at half the price if they save lives. - J Atkinson, Durham.

HOSPITALS PRAISED

ON May 4 this year, after seeing the Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Spa in Scarborough, I suffered a heart attack on board the coach and was rushed to Scarborough Hospital.

From what I heard, I either suffered another attack overnight or it was prevented.

Being so ill, I was transferred to the James Cook Hospital in Middlesborough for an operation. The care I received could not have been any better.

The menus had heart symbols by the healthy options, there was soap in dispensers by the side of the beds for hand cleaning, the beds were changed every day and the floors swept, as well as tables wiped and around the windows.

I would like to thank everyone in the intensive care unit at Scarborough Hospital and all involved at the James Cook. - Lee Morris, Leadgate, Consett.

FREE BOOKS

THE Education Secretary's scheme to provide free books to all under fours (Echo, July 25) will be a foolish waste of money.

The sort of parents she hopes to win over to the idea that they have a role to play in the education of their children are not going to budge from their apathy or lack of interest in what will benefit their children. Schools in deprived areas have tried for years to involve such parents but usually come up against a brick wall of indifference.

The improvement in results of attainment tests has also ground to a halt. This is not because teachers have stopped trying. It is because of a factor which the Government and other people in education are unwilling to admit. It is a fact that everybody, young or old, achieves according to their academic ability and there are some children who are quite simply incapable of achieving the much sought-after Level 4 at age 11. It would not matter how many resources were thrown at the problem, the situation would not change by any significant degree.

Decent, hard-working teachers and parents who support their children do not deserve to have their schools branded as failures simply because the present trend is not to admit that some children, with all the best will in the world, will never achieve the set targets. - D Brearley, Middlesbrough.

BUTTERFLIES

THE sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing sweetly and the garden at the front of my house looked beautiful. But, sadly, there was something missing. Something delicate and graceful. A dancing butterfly. The truth is, I have not seen butterflies in my garden all summer long. A garden full of flowers but without butterflies? It's just unthinkable.

Researching wildlife on the Internet, I found that as many as 42 of Britain's 59 resident species of butterfly are disappearing, unable to adapt to the environment we have created. If present trends continue, it can only mean one thing: extinction.

Of course, it doesn't have to be like this. So much could be done to pull the butterfly back from the edge. In fact, there is enormous scope for improving the extent and suitability of key habitats for butterflies, and also the quality of the British countryside as a whole. However, these improvements cannot be made without a substantial commitment of resources by the Government.

It would be the greatest tragedy if our butterfly populations were lost due to lack of funding. - Aled Jones, Bridlington.

GOOD TIME

WHAT can I say to all the people who volunteered to go naked for Spencer Tunick?

There was nothing wrong in being there. I was one of them and I can say there was nothing disgusting about it.

Yes, we are all different, some of us wobbled but that is what we are and we had the bottle to go that Sunday morning and get naked for art.

All I can say to everyone who went there is be proud and to say yes, I was there, and I enjoyed it.

Being naked made no difference to us, We all had a good time. - Stuart Davison, Coxhoe.

NOT CRICKET

QUITE frankly, the arrogance and hypocrisy of Brian Johnson and the Darlington Feethams Cricket Field Trust never ceases to amaze me and many other nearby residents (Echo, Aug 2).

Darlington Cricket Field Trust has always maintained that it owned this land and has insisted Darlington Football Club takes a back seat in any decisions made regarding it.

When George Reynolds wanted to buy and re-develop this land, Mr Johnson and Co refused and, even recently, when Darlington Football Club wanted to use it for five-a-side football, Mr Johnson and Co still refused to let them.

But now Feethams has become a prime target for vandals and arsonists, Mr Johnson has the gall to blame Darlington Football Club.

If Brian Johnson wants to blame someone for the eyesore Feethams has turned into, he should look a bit closer to home.

Only then can negotiations start with Darlington Football Club as to how Feethams can become a place the community can enjoy again. - M Stoker, Darlington.

PUPPIES

I WOULD like to say thank you to M Embling for wishing Becky good luck with her 13 puppies (HAS, Aug 8).

All 13 are doing well. Becky is still a very caring mother and looking after them exceptionally well.

Springer spaniels are like any other breed of dog: if they are trained correctly they are obedient and loyal both as a pet and as a working dog.

When selling any animal, not just puppies, you meet the prospective owner, speak to them and learn about their home life and if the animal will fit in.

The animal's welfare is always the most important factor. You see too much cruelty to animals in the North-East. All animal lovers like myself are careful. M Embling need not worry. - Name and address supplied.

TERRORISM

I READ a lot of people's comments regarding the terror bombing in London and I have to ask myself: do these people get equally upset when the British and Americans terror bomb civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq?

You cannot stop terrorists by sinking to the same level. Did no one learn a lesson from Northern Ireland? - George Robson, British Columbia, Canada.