A FEW stories have really wound me up this week.

First, there was the controversy over 40-year-old Stockton mother-of-two Sharon Edwards, who was given a suspended sentence, after having sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Had it been a man who had sex with a 14-year-old girl, he would have gone straight to prison. It's a case of shocking double standards.

Then there was the story about pregnant mother-of-five Clare Sparrow who walked free from Teesside Crown Court after inventing three more children to claim tax credit. No one from the tax office bothered to check that she really did have the three extra children.

And then, in today's Northern Echo, we have a front page story under the headline "Ludicrous".

It's all about Darlington independent councillor Steve Jones who was kicked off the council for failing to attend a single meeting in six months.

Now, he is planning to stand again in the resulting by-election that will cost taxpayers £11,000 and lead to two schools being closed for the vote.

Councillor Jones has apologised for his non-attendance, saying he was busy settling in to a new job.

Council leader John Williams says in today's paper that he has a great deal of sympathy for him personally.

I don't. I think it's an absolute joke. No wonder people are so disillusioned with politics.

I'd love to know what you think.