December 16th, 2006

As things stand, these girls have no protection at all - they are at the mercy of vicious clients and vicious pimps, and that is absolutely indefensible.

There needs, as a matter of humanitarian urgency, to be a basic change in the law. The girls need taking off the streets and given official status as public employees in properly registered state, or local authority-owned brothels.

There, they would be safe, warm, have a hygienic working environment, and could be given moral and practical support and guidance (to get to the roots of their personal problems).

Until then, what's now happening in Suffolk will continue to happen. Tragically, it probably happens all the time, only we never learn the victim's fates. How can any humane society live with a situation like that?

Tony Kelly, Crook, Co Durham.

IT is time we had legalised brothels in Great Britain. Five prostitutes have recently been murdered in Suffolk and if we had secure brothels up and down the country, they could work in safety instead of on the streets.

In countries such as The Netherlands, prostitution is legal. I hope we follow suit because it may prevent the murder of any more females who work in this environment.

If drug addicts can have call centres offering them cheap fixes, prostitutes should have a safe haven to operate in, too.

Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

WHETHER in rich countries like America or poor countries in Africa, there are women who will provide sex for money and there are men who will pay for sex, and this will never cease.

So, is it not time to license brothels? It will wipe out the "red light" areas of all cities and towns in this country. It will save the lives of prostitutes and cut down sexual disease, as well as saving the NHS large amounts of money.

The prostitutes would pay for a licence, but it would not be to their "protectors" who are usually drug dealers.

E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill, Co Durham.

INSTEAD of giving out attack alarms to prostitutes on Teesside (Echo, Dec 14), why not give them out to decent girls?

Andy Leigh, Spennymoor, Co Durham.

MUSLIMS

I AM dismayed at the barrage of criticism levelled at correspondent Pete Winstanley in HAS recently.

In my opinion, he writes a balanced view of events in the Middle East while some of his detractors are blatantly anti-Muslim.

My own view is that those who kill innocent civilians are terrorists.

Those who killed civilians in London were, I am sure, Muslims and they are, or were, terrorists.

I ask those who constantly try to brand most Muslims as terrorists what that makes George Bush and Tony Blair, who have killed countless thousands of innocent civilians, including many women and children? Surely they are terrorists too.

If a foreign army was to invade us, surely we would be entitled to kill them as many partisans did in Europe against the invading Nazis.

Iraq, of course, is a very complex country with Shia and Sunni competing for supremacy.

But our presence is only serving to antagonise both sides and the sooner we leave this unfortunate country the better.

Hugh Pender, Darlington.

RAIL LINKS

THE issues raised by Richard Ashby (HAS, Dec 13) in respect of the Bishop Auckland to Darlington rail branch line are perfectly valid.

Unfortunately, this timetable has prevailed more or less in its current form for at least the past ten years and seems to me to be geared only to serve, in the main, the occasional daytime shopper and is in no way geared for the working commuter.

The line has great potential, but the timetable does not encourage usage, giving the operator ready-made evidence at any time, if required, for closure.

I am also sure that there are many potential passengers who would use this link on an evening, for a night out in Darlington or Newcastle, if only the last train out of Darlington to Bishop was a few hours later than the current 8.25pm.

I, too, would be interested to know why this resource is not given more investment, through an improved timetable, which I believe would pay for itself in the long term.

Jeff Sawyer, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham.

AT YOUR SERVICE

THANK you Mike Amos for your weekly At Your Service column. It is always a satisfying blend of history, interesting characters and, especially, a friendly visit to one of the many churches and chapels in the region.

It is inspiring to read how faithful Christians are continuing to shine a light in the area where they live. Especially encouraging are the occasions when the column reports on a small congregation, like the one in Upper Teesdale (Echo, Dec 2) who delight in their worship and ministry despite being so few in number.

Thank you, Mike, and your photographer, for one of the best columns of the week.

EA Moralee, Billingham.

SMOKING

JEFF Wragg (HAS, Dec 9) says that after next July's smoking ban he will not have to rush in and out of pub toilets to stop smelling of smoke. I think there are more odours to worry about in that situation.

I am a smoker and I think this smoking ban is really over the top. I agree with a ban in restaurants and hospitals, etc, but surely certain rooms in pubs where all are in favour is not asking a lot.

As a reader of Hear All Sides, I think there are a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon.

A Abbott, Fishburn, Co Durham.

IT appears that the Department of Health has decided to withdraw a TV advert which included the fact that tobacco contains significant amounts of Polonium 210, the radioactive poison that killed Alexander Litvinenko.

It may also be of interest to readers that tobacco contains traces of, among others, arsenic and benzene, both powerful poisons.

How many more reasons do you need to try and convince people that smoking kills?

Peter Hill, School Aycliffe, Co Durham.

LABOUR TRIBUTE

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown gave yet another consummate performance when delivering his Pre-Budget Report. Mr Brown handles these House of Commons events in a masterly way.

He was pleased to announce that, because of the strong economy, the Government was able to continue its policy of major investment with education among the main items to benefit.

An ambitious programme of new school building is be launched along with the refurbishment of others.

It is rare to see a renewal initiative of this sort and this excellent news is a tribute to Labour.

LD Wilson, Guisborough.