21/02/06

The force has introduced massive changes to its communications system yet still manages to answer every 999 call within an average of five seconds and every other non-emergency call within eight seconds.

This creditable performance by hard-pressed communications staff is achieved against a background of soaring public demand for their services and can be compared favourably with other forces.

We plan more work that is intended to further develop the service provided to the people of County Durham and Darlington. Superintendent Barry Knevitt, Head of Communications, Durham Constabulary.

SPORTING CASH

RE sporting cash (HAS, Feb 8). The reason golfers and tennis players escape judgement is that they only receive huge levels of prize money when they finish high up in major international and national events, and sponsorship while they remain successful.

The millionaire footballers of Middlesbrough are struggling to avoid relegation, and have won only one significant trophy in more than 120 years.

Newcastle, whose supporters apparently demand success, have not had much success for about 50 years.

Most of the top footballers are paid huge wages they do not earn them.

Incidentally, Tiger Woods always conducts himself very well, which is more than can be said of many top footballers of recent times. MW Conway, Stockton.

D CARDS

I READ with interest the uproar surrounding the debate on national ID cards.I live in Tenerife and have a business here so I had to become a resident of Spain.

Therefore I had to have an ID card which requires fingerprints, etc.

Anyone Spanish or otherwise has to comply.

Believe me it works you are going to think twice before committing a crime as your ID is on a data base so you will be quickly arrested and charged. Greg James, Arona, Tenerife.

YOU couldnt find a better example of New Labour hoodwinking if you tried.

Facing defeat on the Bill to introduce their astronomically expensive and demonstrably ineffective ID cards, they made a major concession by saying that the cards would be voluntary without further legislation.

ut since all passport applicants will be forced to also get an ID card from 2008, New Labour are really saying that unless you want to spend the rest of your life within the UKs borders, you will be forced to get an ID card.

All I can hope is that given our partys excellent progress, a Lib Dem government will be elected in 2009 which will then scrap Labours ludicrous white elephant ID card scheme. Councillor Stephen Psallidas (Lib Dem), Newcastle.

HYPOCRISY

THE British soldiers,who were sent to Iraq in 1991 and 2003, killing and maiming tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children, were hailed by most of the British press as heroes and liberators.

The soldiers who are at present in the news for beating up Iraqi youths, are described as thugs.

The hypocrisy is nauseating. Has thuggery become a worse crime than manslaughter? Rev John Stephenson, Sunderland.

SAVE OUR BUSES

SUFFERED drastic changes in your local bus service and a lack of information about them?

If, as Arriva claims, 85 per cent of their routes are not subsidised, then it sticks out like a sore thumb that they have to run their business on a commercial basis.

So why change the bus service 723, formerly the (46) United service? This is no longer a direct route to Newcastle, it now stops at Durham.

You are now expected to buy an explorer ticket costing £7 for a return ticket to Newcastle.

More than double the cost of the old direct ticket.

To make matters worse, passengers have to wait in the freezing cold at Durham in the hope another bus turns up on time to go to Newcastle. This other bus is the X1 which leaves Durham before the 723 arrives, meaning a wait up to an hour for the next one to arrive.

On a return journey home, this inconvenience and misery is doubled.An 18-mile journey each way can now take up to five hours.

For a bus route which has been running to Newcastle from Darlington for over 40 years, successfully carrying thousands of people per day providing a direct route across two counties, this is now an utter disgrace.

When was the last time you were asked for your opinion on proposed bus and route changes?

When was the last time you were informed of any changes in the first place?

Anyone in County Durham who has seen their bus service altered, slashed, curtailed or stopped, please write with information to Ken Stubbs, 90, Biscop Crescent, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 5PU, or email branch.secretary@remploynorth.org.uk

GREEN THEME

DID you know that across England thousands of people give up their time to create urban community allotments, giving children a chance to learn first hand about healthy food, clear up local grot-spots or start rural conservation projects to protect endangered butterflies?

They do this because volunteering is a great way to show that you care about improving the environment. Better still, volunteering is also good for your health. Research found that 42 per cent of environmental volunteers say it helps them to lose weight while 61 per cent say volunteering helps them combat stress.

A great way to go green is by signing up with CSVs environmental volunteering campaign Environment Agency Action Earth.

You can get involved in the campaign by visiting www.csv.org.uk/actionearth and registering your own project or by linking up with other volunteers in your area. And to help get your volunteering off the ground there are still 50 grants available for new projects in England. Kirsty King, BBC Ground Force Presenter.

SPANISH CIVIL WAR

I AM writing a book on the support provided by the North-East for the Spanish Republic at the time of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39.

This includes those who went to fight for the Republic in the International Brigade, the campaigns and funds supported by trade unions, Labour and other political parties, and the wide-based Aid Spain campaigns that were organised in the region.

I would be very interested to hear from any of your readers with information or leads on any aspect of this topic. I can be contacted by email at lewismates@yahoo.co.uk or by post to this address: C/o Dr G Cohen, Politics Department, School of Government and International Affairs, University of Durham, 48 Old Elvet, Durham, DU1 3LZ. Dr Lewis Mates..