PROUD to have being born in County Durham I sometimes despair how strangers to the area must think of us.

Visiting Darlington in the rain on Monday, October 19, wasn’t a very nice experience.

My visit to the shops was quite pleasant until I had to pay a visit to the toilets in the Market Place where, not for the first time, I was appalled at the state of the building.

While waiting for a bus to arrive I was expected to stand in the pouring rain in a vandalised bus shelter with part of the roof and sides missing. Other passengers were forced to take shelter under the canopy next to Waterstones.

Then, of course, there’s the scramble to catch your bus as six come along together. Having found a seat on a dilapidated bus I had to swap seats because it had a leak in the roof.

Instead of councils setting money aside for future developments I suggest they fix existing problems first.

Darlington desperately needs a bus station. Couldn’t one be built on one of the existing car parks?

Mrs I Bennett, Newton Aycliffe.