BAD BEHAVIOUR: WHILE visiting North Yorkshire last week I noticed the article and Comment about Asbos (Echo, June 3) and the fact that 42 per cent reoffend. I do agree with your comment though, that Asbos are good for a final warning for offenders.

Asbos work better if the community reports things to the police or housing management officers of local authorities. If a system of reporting anti-social behaviour is set up and the authorities work alongside residents, then we can get something done about people who have no regard for their neighbours' lives.

Where I live in Derbyshire, one of our local residents was issued with an Asbo which stopped the offender from coming back onto our estate. The person did come back a few times and was eventually caught and imprisoned, so although the Asbo does not physically stop the unwanted action, it does prove to be a last warning for some people.

Of course, the more it is acted upon, the more the message is going to get across that you can't ruin people's lives and get away with it. - Bill Wheatcroft, Alfreton, Derbyshire.

BOB GELDOF

WHO the do some people think they are? "Live Aid 1 didn't do anything so why should this one" (HAS, June 4)

Live Aid 1 was done to raise funds for Africa, not to solve world povert. The $144m plus raised did just that and this fantastic man is now trying again, this time one step even further.

There are people who just don't have a grasp on the world's state. Those who are complaining at the fact their city is going to be squashed for a week, or calling Sir Bob irresponsible, need to get a grip.

Next time you buy your mass-produced, slave-made trainers, or have a few people passing through your town on their way to the G8 Summit, just remember he is trying to solve world poverty. What are you doing? - Aysha Bowes, Bishop Auckland.

TAX CREDITS

I AM writing regarding concerns over the tax credit system following publication of the number of overpayments made by HM Revenue and Customs.

In total, around a third of all awards for 2003/4 were overpayments, leaving nearly two million families to repay, on average, more than £1,000 each.

These figures are unprecedented and reflect problems not just with the computer system but inherent within the new tax credit system. There have been many instances where local offices want to claw back money overpaid due to mistakes in internal administration rather than customer misinformation.

As yet it is not known how many overpayments have been made due to internal processing errors and how many will be written off.

Last week, Treasury ministers outlined changes to the way in which overpayments will be clawed back. This was, in essence, an admission that the Inland Revenue has not always behaved responsibly in the past. However, new guidelines alone will not solve the problems.

The policy of reassessing income at the end of an award is flawed and a return to the system of fixed awards would end this bureaucratic problem for many families. - Jacquie Bell, Richmond Liberal Democrats.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED

I WOULD like to complain about Peter Mullen's column (Echo, May, 31). Once again he complains about gay men as well as a few other groups. He is beginning to get rather tiresome with his weekly rants.

I went to Pride last year in London and nowadays it is just a chance for gay people to get together and not have to worry about getting beaten up.

Also, more heterosexuals contracted AIDS last year than gays. A lot of, but unfortunately not all, gay men know what happens if they have unprotected sex, but a lot of straight people, Mr Mullen included, seem to think that AIDS is just a gay disease.

To his credit, back in the 1960s he did say that gay sex should be decriminalised as times had changed but that it should stay behind closed doors. Times have changed again and why should people live this lie just to keep a minority and the Church happy?

It's that sort of attitude that means that many gay men, like myself, feel the need to live a lie to all but my immediate family.

Are people in his position helping that problem by making such comments without thinking of the consequences? I expect this sort of stuff in trashy tabloids but not in The Northern Echo. - Name and address supplied.

BIRDS' NESTS

IN response to RW Hall, of Esh, (HAS, May 30) regarding birds' nests at the Sniperley Park and Ride site, I feel it is necessary to clarify Durham County Council's position.

We have an obligation under the Wildlife and Countryside Act regarding the protection of all wild birds and so consulted relevant experts before starting work on all three Park and Ride sites.

Some hedges were cut well in advance of work starting to ensure that no nests would be built in them and disturbed, and as a later follow-up, experts surveyed all trees and remaining hedges on the sites to identify where birds had actually built nests.

These areas have been protected and will remain in place until the birds have fledged.

I can assure your correspondent that no nests have been destroyed and the programme of construction has been amended to accommodate the nesting season. - John McGargill, Traffic Section Manager, Durham County Council.

DR ALAN WILLIAMS

I FIND it curious that the General Medical Council, having found Dr Alan Williams guilty of gross professional misconduct, does nothing more than ban him from Home Office pathology work or coroners' cases for three years.

As a result of this man an innocent woman was sent to prison - wrongly jailed for the murder of her two sons (Echo, June 4).

In my own profession if I had been found guilty of a similar offence, the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons would have struck me off the register and I would have been deprived of my means of earning a living.

It seems to me that standards have slipped somewhat in the medical profession. - Peter Hill, MRCVS, Aycliffe.

EU CONSTITUTION

HAD the European Union been a public company the directors would have been in jail, as audit after audit has been turned down on the grounds of mismanagement.

The EU statement that it would get its house in order was followed by another audit refusal. Is there any wonder that the organisation is seen as a platinum-plated gravy train by the average voter and is on its way to the buffers? - R Harbron, Norton.

WORKING WEEK

FLEXIBLE working. Like to be a nurse? Work as a team, three-day week, 13 hours a day, night or day shift, 39-hour week, four days off a week? In your dreams.

At the end of three days or nights your team leader says one team member is ill, would you cover their shift?

Bang goes the 39-hour week. Add 13 hours for the extra shift and you get a 52-hour week. This is not a rare occurrence.

Ban flexible working. This is the reality. - Mrs I Watson, Durham.