I WAS astonished to read letters telling readers that we should be supporting Northern Rock. The correspondent's reason was that this "northern institution" donates a percentage of its profit to charity.

I am sure the average person probably donates a higher percentage of their wages over the year to charity than Northern Rock donates from its profit.

Then there is the question of sponsorship for Newcastle United FC. I am sure the extra business it gets from the advertising more than pays for the sponsorship.

Let's get one thing straight: banks are there to make as much profit from the public as they can, they don't care about anybody except their greedy fat cat bosses.

If the Bank of England had not bailed Northern Rock out, it would have gone out of business and people would have lost savings.

Then we would have witnessed how much the people who ran it cared for their customers.

David Lowdon, Sunnybrow, Crook

NORTHERN Rock is still apparently handing out mortgages which other lenders won't.

I'm going to ask Northern Rock for £5m, preferably in cash, and ostensibly to spend on my villa in the south of France, though I dare say I'll spend a chunk of it on fast boats and even faster women.

Some of the £50 notes will come in useful for lighting my wood burning stove when I return to the North- East of England - though on second thoughts one would get more heat per pound from £10 notes.

Ralph Musgrave, Durham.