SAVE FEETHAMS: I am sad to see Darlington's old football home, Feethams, in such a mess. I, like thousands of others, have fond memories of the old place.

I blame the cricket club for its current state. Surely they could have hired security guards to keep an eye on the welfare of the stadium instead of allowing it to be burgled and left to rot? It would be a shame to see Feethams bulldozed and replaced by housing.

The only sensible option that I have heard regarding its future has been proposed by David Hodgson, who wishes to turn it into a modern sports venue.

With its prime town centre location, I hope that Mr Hodgson's plans will one day be approved by Darlington Borough Council.

No doubt the council would like to see a new housing estate erected on the old centre circle, with new street names like Blair Grove being recommended by their planning division.

My campaign starts here: Save Feethams. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

ARRIVA

Commercial director Liz Esnouf's glib dismissal of the anger felt by residents in the Central Avenue/Vane Road areas of Newton Aycliffe over the re-routing of service 723 is staggering (HAS, Aug 24).

To suggest that these changes are somehow Arriva responding in an entirely understandable way to meet the needs of a previously neglected larger population is misinterpreting the facts.

At the same time the 723 was re-routed, service 13 which ran through Woodham and onto Ferryhill and then Durham, was cut altogether.

If Arriva wanted to give the population of Woodham a quicker and more frequent service to Ferryhill and Durham, why didn't it tinker with service 13?

Arriva's managers, such as Liz Esnouf, need to reconsider what public transport means and move away from shaping every decision according to its profit margins. - Dr Donald Simpson, Newton Aycliffe.

ASYLUM SEEKERS

THANK you for your balanced and reflective comment on the predicament of those people whose applications for asylum in the UK have failed (Echo, Aug 24).

As you rightly point out, life is never quite as simple as the Home Office would wish when assessing whether a traumatised, desperate person should be given protection or sent back to danger.

Last September the Immigration Advisory Service produced a report which found that the information provided by the Home Office Country Information Policy Unit was often subjective and flawed, leading to numerous unfair determinations of asylum applications.

It is obscene that we should celebrate a brutal immigration policy which forcibly removes failed asylum seekers to some of the most volatile areas of conflict in the world.

The recent decision to coerce Iraqi Kurds into returning or face destitution is an appalling example of the obsessive willingness to risk lives in order to meet targets to placate the 'simplistic right'.

I hope that the Government will have the political courage to confront those who would allow 'inhuman statistics' to dictate policy.

Effective immigration control is also about recognising our humanitarian responsibilities towards those who have suffered torture and dispossession.

It is to our credit in the North-East that the majority of decent minded people are sending a strong message to the Government that we won't be influenced by anti-asylum hysteria, but will campaign to achieve justice for our friends seeking asylum. The communities where they live have been inspired and enriched by their contribution. - Kath Sainsbury, National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns.

SKY BOWL

RE Durham (Pie In The) Sky Bowl (HAS, Aug 30).

No doubt this heading will probably provoke more comment on the proposed (or already agreed) pie dish which our county councillors say is good for Durham's already outstanding architectural image.

Why do we need this pie dish to be put where it may even be ridiculed by our own and foreign tourists?

Will it be used as a homing device for extra terrestrials (sorry could not resist) to come and explore our already great county?

I've no doubt that the council will carry out a comprehensive consultation process with all of its residents on this very controversial matter or could this seemingly vast sum of money be put to better use? - Malcolm Gibb, Parish Councillor, Bearpark.

FUN SHOW

WE would like to thank The Northern Echo readers for the tremendous support they have given us for our play, Waiting For Gateaux.

The play attracted full houses on its re-run at the Customs House in South Shields.

Our new play, The Revengers, premieres at the Customs House from tomorrow to Saturday, and we'd be delighted for people to join us for a couple of hours for more fun, laughter and uncomplicated entertainment. - Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood, South Shields.

HIGH ROW

IAN Dougill asks why is High Row being altered (HAS, Aug 25)? I, for one, have a very good reason for this work being carried out.

A few weeks ago, I stood on a crack on the steps near Post House Wynd. My foot twisted sideways and cracked. Then I slipped forward, down a step and my foot ended up twisting the opposite way so that it was badly displaced.

Because of that accident I had to endure a three-hour operation, a week's stay in hospital, six weeks in plaster not able to put any weight on my foot, and many painful weeks of physiotherapy and exercises at home. I still need to use a stick to walk.

Many people have accidents on those steps on High Row. Some only suffer minor cuts and grazes, while others have more serious injuries, like myself. So I for one say: Thank God they are going. - Babs Glendenning, Hurworth.

ANGER AND HATE

MANKIND has always been under threat from the extremes of nature and from extreme ideology in pursuit of power.

The men behind the extreme ambitions of global domination, under the guise of religious glory, and the indiscriminate sacrifice of innocents, are striving to create the perception that they can bring hell on earth upon us.

They claim to speak for God but advocate the message of evil. They demonstrate their power in the most inhuman ways: they can persuade miserable young soldiers to enact for them, on a diet of anger and hate.

They promise greatness on the Islamic role of honour in the service of their sisters and brothers. How pitiful. Surely, there are plenty of worthwhile causes they could gain satisfaction from, in the knowledge that they were helping to make the world a better place for all people to develop their individual strengths in harmony.

Our democracy protects the right of freedom of speech about all things with the ability to make up our own minds to accept or reject even the most revered ideas.

It does not support the freedom of our enemies from within to destroy what we have built over many generations. - George Appleby, York.