I object to the media's over use and trivialisation of the word hero'. A hero is not someone who plays sports, no matter how talented or skilled and, in most cases, overpaid and pampered.

However, I feel a hero is someone who is prepared to put their safety and life on the line for the benefit of others. Like our lads in Iraq or Afghanistan.

It would be nice to see those men and women out there receiving the same much deserved respect and adulation that many people get for kicking a ball around a field.

Peter Ford, Darlington