CRASH: I AM trying to locate a couple who were loading shopping into a green vehicle - possibly a Subaru Justy - at approximately 1.05pm on Saturday May 21, 2005, in Morrison's car park, Bishop Auckland.

They were in an end parking bay on the through road, and witnessed an incident between a silver Clio and a Rover.

Any information about what they witnessed would be gratefully received.

If you were that couple please contact nicolajhumble@hotmail.com or tel 01388 778179. - NJ Humble, Shildon.

Darlington CENTRE

I WONDER whether Mike Barker (HAS, June 17) may have misunderstood things that were said at the Darlington Town Centre Forum.

The council has always recognised the importance of the distinctive character of Darlington town centre. The fact that it is one of Darlington's glories to be cherished is set out in many council documents about the town centre and was made clear at the forum.

That is why we chose probably the best conservation designers in the country, Gillespies, to design the "pedestrian heart". Their scheme, which retains the change of level in High Row and uses entirely traditional materials, is welcomed by the national conservation guardians, English Heritage. The scheme is distinctively 'Darlington' and will take us forward into the 21st century as a place that people want to visit and are proud of.

Town centres cannot stand still or they would lose out to other centres which were improving. Darlington needs the new development to attract trade which would otherwise go elsewhere.

It also needs to enhance its distinctiveness, both in design and through the independent retailers who are so important to the town. We need both good multiple retailers and good independents, for that is what shoppers are looking for.

The Town Centre Forum heard views both about moving the town centre forward and about cherishing its distinctiveness. The council will be working in partnership with private sector colleagues to pursue both. - Councillor John Williams, Leader, Darlington Borough Council.

WIND FARMS

J ROUTLEDGE asks (HAS, June 20) how wind farms reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we are putting into the atmosphere.

The energy that windmills convert into electrical energy comes from the energy in moving air. The air moves because the sun heats it, causing convection currents (wind). No carbon is involved in this process.

Most of our electrical energy comes from heat energy made by burning carbon fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). This burning results in the emission of carbon dioxide into the air: one ton of coal produces about three tons of carbon dioxide.

The carbon dioxide content of the earth's atmosphere is growing larger which most scientists who have studied the matter believe is resulting in higher temperatures all over the earth.

Wind farms are one way of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. - Peter Wilson, Barnard Castle.

DARLINGTON BUSES

I HELPED win permission to have a bus stop in Larchfield Street, Darlington, for the No 22 Mowden to Cockerton service. It was well used.

Two years ago, the council ended its funding so this bus was taken off the road. It ignored our complaints and needs, and forced us to use taxis we cannot afford.

Now that we have more elderly people living on Larchfield Street who cannot get from A to B on foot. We need this No 22 back urgently. - Ann Swain, Darlington.

TAX CREDITS

ON JUNE 6 you published my letter expressing concerns about the Tax Credit system.

Now there are further reports from the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Association of Citizen's Advice Bureaux detailing the errors and flaws of the new system. Many of these are related to the IT system. Nearly two million families have been overpaid and the system is clawing back the money.

A system designed to help those struggling to manage is now leaving people in poverty. Some families are being asked to repay several thousand pounds.

Families are risking repossession of cars, homes and other property and the CAB in some areas has had to arrange food parcels. Another one million families have been underpaid.

The policy of reassessing income at the end of an award is flawed and a return to fixed awards would end this problem for many families.

The Paymaster General, Dawn Primarolo, has admitted that there are flaws in the system but she has been complacent about the problems. She must accept the responsibility that comes with her high office. - Jacquie Bell, Parliamentary Spokesperson, Richmond Liberal Democrats.

AFRICAN AID

JOHN Reilly correctly states that aid to Africa is the top of our news bulletins at the moment (HAS, June 20). This is happening while British concerns are once again being swept underneath the carpet by the Labour Government.

While we see the likes of Bob Geldof preaching about poverty overseas, British youngsters are being terrorised by bullies, and our pensioners are getting mugged or their houses burgled by loutish thugs.

Could anybody tell me which news bulletin I could watch that concentrates on British matters instead of the plight of some foreign nation? - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

STREET CRIME

STREET crime - muggings, threatening, loutish and drunken behaviour - is on the increase, yet the problem is being addressed by the police as best they are able.

The Government's latest proposal is to use military policemen, backed up by uniformed soldiers from the Army. Putting soldiers on the streets of Britain's cities may be an "eye-catching initiative" - to use Tony Blair's famous phrase - but it is not a sensible policy.

The deployment of soldiers to keep order in peacetime has ominous associations. The Army is one of our most respected institutions, but the quickest way to destroy its reputation is to use it in a role for which its soldiers are not trained.

The proposal represents the Government's understanding that the police have failed to control the streets. That failure is in fact largely the result of Government policy: thanks to the restrictions imposed by the Treasury, police numbers are far too low; thanks to Home Office directives and targets, police officers have too many forms to fill in to allow them time to patrol the streets.

Oliver Cromwell's Ironsides were the last troops routinely to police Britain's streets in the 1650s. It is folly to revive the practice now. - Peter Troy, Sedgefield.

POTATOES

WE HAVE a Trade Descriptions Act which protects us from manufacturers making false claims for their products. But has the law been bent in some way with regard to the Jersey potato (HAS, June 4)?

I would hazard a guess that most "Jersey" spuds are actually grown in the US state of New Jersey.

In labelling their potatoes "New Jerseys", the producers cannot be accused of flat-out lying. Making half-truth claims is fair game in any advertising. Just ask Tony Blair's slogan writers. - Aled Jones, Bridlington.