BOTTLE SHOCK : I am so incensed and annoyed at an incident which occurred involving my son that I felt I had to make some comment about it.

I wonder if the female drinker who thought it was fun to throw an empty vodka bottle at my son's car as he was travelling along Carmel Road South in Darlington early on Friday evening went home and told her parents where she had been and what a brilliant time she'd had.

Perhaps if she had not been in such an intoxicated state she would have realised what a dangerous and potentially life threatening situation she caused.

Luckily my son was travelling alone. Had there been passengers in the car they would have been seriously injured or even killed.

I suppose it could be said my son got off lightly with a large repair bill and the inconvenience of being unable to drive himself to work the next morning.

Isn't it time we stopped making excuses for this type of behaviour and parents started taking responsibility for their children. Maybe teaching them to have respect for people and property would be a start. Perhaps if they knew where their children were of an evening instead of allowing them to roam the streets, this incident would not have occurred. I think it is a case of out of sight out of mind. - Name and address supplied.

TOWN CENTRE

WHAT a joke this town of Darlington has become.

I haven't met anyone yet who wanted this pedestrianisation project. It has been hard to see any work being done.

I would like to know who is going to pay for the delay and extra costs now incurred. No doubt a council tax rise will be on the cards.

I totally agree with the managing director of LifeStyle (Echo, Mar 27). The council should do more to help the ones affected by falling trade.

Another thing, who decided to start at the retailing peak over Christmas and January.

The south end of the town appears dead. Still, I hope all the hassle is worth it. Somehow I doubt it. - JR Brant, Darlington.

VIGILANCE REQUIRED

MIS-SELLING refers to the misleading or deceitful sales and marketing practices deployed by salespeople.

Despite efforts to raise awareness of mis-selling practices, increasing numbers of small and medium-sized businesses are still falling victim to these underhand and often illegal tactics.

New research we have conducted in the North-East shows that telecoms remains the number one commonly mis-sold business service.

What we're hearing from businesses is that mis-selling is escalating, with 26 per cent receiving telecoms mis-selling approaches every day.

BT is equally concerned about mis-selling and is urging all businesses to ensure staff are aware of the issue and able to recognise the warning signs.

What may seem like an appealing deal at the outset may turn out very differently once you have read the small print.

There are steps you can take to safeguard your business or take action if you've been a victim of mis-selling. Firstly, you should contact your existing telecoms supplier. If they are unable to resolve the issue, then you can lodge a formal complaint with the offending company and Ofcom. If appropriate, you may be advised to take legal action.

You can also contact your BT Local Business service for advice on 0800 783 8809. - Alan Lees, Regional Director, Scotland and North-East, BT Local Business.

TONY BLAIR

ONCE again our national politicians show how low they are prepared to sink to keep their grip on national power.

The man who leads this whiter than white New Labour, the absent MP for the Sedgefield constituency, Tony Blair, claims that he is an honourable person but, in saying that, he shows that, along with the word democracy, honourable is another word he doesn't know the correct meaning of.

He sees nothing wrong with the party treasurer not knowing about backdoor loans even though the elected treasurer is legally responsible for keeping the party accounts and then, when he is caught out trying to put these big money lenders into the House of Lords, he defends his actions by saying that they will make a useful contribution to New Labour policies.

When New Labour first came to power in 1997 after a long spell on the Opposition benches, one of their manifesto's main pledges was the reforming of the House of Lords.

Many of the electorate took that to mean a second elected chamber, but Tony Blair's reforming has allowed him to give his friends and cronies a position of government without having to put themselves forward for election or being accountable to Parliament. - Peter Dolan, Newton Aycliffe.

DARLINGTON MARKET

WHAT is Darlington most famous for? Answer: its Premiership football club. Wrong.

Answer: its premiership market. Right

Or it used to be. I moved to Darlington in 1988 and used to regularly visit Darlington Market and, at one stage, even made sure I was off on Mondays so I could just visit for the banter.

I also used to struggle to get a parking space in the late 80s and early 90s on a Monday.

Times change and work changes so my visits became infrequent. Over the last few Mondays I have had to go to town on a Monday again and I am dismayed at how the market has declined in the number of stallholders and, of course, if the stallholders are not there the people don't turn up.

At the moment I feel the market is currently non league and put the blame firmly at the door of the council.

So come on council, do something quick before the town's greatest tradition dies a very slow death. - Andrew Thompson, Darlington.

NUDE PHOTOS

I EXPECTED the nude photos in Newcastle to cause some controversy as, throughout the centuries, such representations in art have done.

However, I have a question about them. What were the security measures?

I mean, were there screens sealing off the areas where the photos were being taken, making it impossible for anyone except for those involved to see the participants?

If it becomes generally known what measures were in place, then maybe there will be more respect for the pictures. - Iain Mahoney, Shildon.

SCHOOL FACTS

CONTRARY to your report about "school closures" in County Durham as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, (Echo, Mar 24 ) Durham County Council's preferred option that is being forwarded for consideration to the Department for Education and Skills does not include the closure of Shotton Hall School, Peterlee.

Your report: Multi-million pound shake-up faces opposition, has unfortunately led to concerns being expressed by parents, staff and students at the school.

For the record, the county council's BSF proposals for East Durham include a new school for Peterlee to be built on the Shotton Hall site to provide for the Shotton and Dene areas.

These proposals will now be the subject of further consultation with schools, parents and other key partners in the area. - Keith Mitchell, Director of Education, Durham County Council.