23/11/05

They went on here, day and night, from early October and have just about stopped now.

Soon they'll begin again for Christmas. Almost everyone is sick and tired of the noise and, as usual, there have been many incidents of the lethal things being thrown into people's homes and businesses, causing fires.

There have been children hurt, animals frightened, even killed. It really is time fireworks were only available for safely organised displays. Gone are the days when families looked forward to one day, November 5th.

But abuse of fireworks has ruined that for everyone. For another petition please go to: www.fireworkspetition.co.uk where more than 90,000 signatures were collected last year and even more, so far, this year. - R Laycock, Shildon.

GREAT BRITAIN

AFTER reading the letters (HAS, Nov 5 and 10) from County Councillor John Shuttleworth and G Spring UKIP, protesting at regionalisation in the North-East, it appears that some people still prefer the 'Little Englander' method of trading with other countries.

Ed Balls, MP for Normanton, West Yorkshire, and once Chancellor Gordon Brown's right-hand man, at a recent meeting in Bishop Auckland outlined the case for Northern industry before an invited audience of business representatives.

He said: "It is about closing regional divides that have existed since the 1930s. We need a supportive and committed regional policy which is not about hand-outs but is about giving people the means and resources to make a decision."

The UK will always be a trading nation because our future prosperity depends on our presence being visible in world markets.

We have to see ourselves as others see us and rise to their expectations in a closer expanding world economy where failing to grasp the opportunity to increase prosperity will have serious consequences.

In simple terms, we have to put Great back in Britain. - Thomas Conlon, Spennymoor.

ATTACKS ON ELDERLY

READING about yet another cruel attack on a defenceless old lady (this time through a hosepipe being pushed through her window which flooded the room (Echo, Nov 15), my blood boils when I think of the stupid individuals who seem to get some sort of pathetic delight in attacking elderly people.

The elderly have more courage, brains, intelligence and guts than they will ever have.

Criminals these days, especially the young ones, are not given punishments to fit their crimes. They are mollycoddled in such places as Deerbolt where they are treated to three good meals a day, every type of leisure activity imaginable and yet (at Deerbolt) they had the effrontery to smash up the chapel.

It is a pity these morons cannot be imprisoned in uncomfortable cells and given a diet of bread and water.

If this punishment is not considered 'humane', how about a return to corporal punishment for young tearaways and capital punishment for self-confessed murderers?

Sadly, however, the do-gooders and the politically correct now have the upper hand.

Let us disregard their stupid ideas and bring back strong discipline in schools, prisons and, most importantly, in ordinary households where parental guidance is obviously non-existent. Perhaps in some cases it is also the parents themselves who need to be disciplined. - Mary Lewis, Barnard Castle.

LEAH PATTISON

HOW pleased I was to see in The Northern Echo not only articles by your journalist Sarah Foster about Leah Pattison's good work, but also a letter praising her (HAS, Nov 14).

I know from personal experience how difficult it is to raise funds for any charity, let alone one abroad.

It was a Northern Echo photograph in 2000 which first sent me to Frosterley to buy Leah's bike for my son when she was selling all her personal possessions for the lepers.

I wish her well in her work. The Dales must be proud of her. - E Dobson, Bishop Auckland.

NORTHUMBRIAN WATER

I WOULD like to congratulate Northumbrian Water on the quality of staff they employ on reception and on the Flood Risk helpline.

I have dealt with Northumbrian Water since 1994 over the flood risk at Baff Street, Spennymoor and surrounding areas. I thank them for the help given during emergency call-outs this year.

I requested a further survey of the Baff Street area earlier this year after receiving complaints from residents. I wrote to Northumbrian Water in May 2005 voicing the concerns.

I have urged Northumbrian Water on several occasions to expedite their action and I am pleased to inform residents that a new sewerage improvement scheme is due to start in May 2006.

Further details will be announced after the review meeting on November 25. - Councillor Ben Ord, Liberal Democrat, Spennymoor Ward, Sedgefield Borough Council.

TONY BLAIR

I AM 70 and have never considered that I had any special rights.

As an Englishman who has always contributed to society through paying taxes and by working hard, I always believed in this obligation in order to help our society function.

It has never been a hardship and I think the vast majority of people from my generation feel the same. It is our responsibility to contribute to society so that society may prosper.

So I cannot understand Labour's legacy to Britain - a generation of young people, immigrants and asylum seekers, who, having contributed not one thing to society, have a right to free council housing and large amounts of benefits. It is totally alien to my way of thinking.

Many young people seem to have no respect for anything within society yet have an amazing ability to recite word for word their rights and know exactly what they can get from the state.

We have become a truly sick society and will continue to be so until the responsibilities and obligations we have toward our society outweigh individual rights.

I close by saying Tony Blair has lost his credibility. He is setting himself up as a martyr and defender of Britain, but has conveniently forgotten that it was his deception in leading us into war with Iraq that has made us a target for terrorism. - D Hughes, Weardale.

POLICE FORCES

I AM writing about the future of police forces in the North-East.

After the Lancet inquiry, the officers of Cleveland Constabulary were left under funded, demoralised and short staffed.

Now it is suggested they should be amalgamated into neighbouring forces. If they are, the Government should split the force in half. The southern half of Middlesbrough and Redcar should join North Yorkshire. The northern half of Stockton and Hartlepool should go into Durham.

An all-Northern force covering Northumbria Durham and Cleveland will be too big. - Nigel Boddy, Darlington.