COUNCIL TAX: HOW many candidates in the May 1 elections have raised the question of council tax?

Have we any assurance that they will strive to achieve value for money, and that they will seek to restrict all further council tax increases in line with the national inflation figure?

In 1998-99, my council tax was £861.63. Today it is £1,400.58 - an increase of over 62 per cent on Band E property. - G Kane, Leyburn.

OUR high council taxes help to pay for our £30m per day contribution to the EU. The sooner we are out of the EU the better. And forget about regional government. - Ken Bowes, Shildon.

COUNCILS should have allowed more homes to be built to meet demand and to keep house prices steady. Would John Prescott, who wants people to live on brownfield sites, want to live on one himself?

With council tax so high, councils would benefit from the extra homes. We would have better services and maybe lower tax. - N Tate, Darlington.

POLICING

I HAVE just begun to appreciate just how thin our blue line is. Every time I step out of my front door I come across a scene of vandalism or an idiot going twice the speed limit, and not a police officer in sight.

Because of the Iraq war, I noticed the US government calling up its reservists. The sheriff of a "small" town - population 17,000 - complained that this would leave him with only 31 officers, a ratio we in the UK can only dream about.

My thoughts then turned to the ongoing police recruitment adverts, and I asked myself: "Be in two places at once and do the same job as two American colleagues? I don't think I could do that!" - Chris Taylor, Brotton, East Cleveland.

CRAIG BELLAMY

I READ (Echo, Apr 17) that footballer Craig Bellamy is to be prosecuted after an allegedly racist incident.

Yet on the Despatches programme on television, I saw a London Muslim cleric repeatedly urging young Muslim men to become suicide bombers and martyrs against unbelievers. He called unbelievers "lower than animals" and told his followers "martyrs are Allah's beloved".

He also told them to get the women of unbelievers before they can spawn. Why is this man free to promote this blatant racism and threaten our existence while Bellamy is prosecuted? - T Smith, Darlington.

BEECHING AXE

READING the article (Echo, Apr 17) about the destruction of our priceless network of branch lines by Dr Richard Beeching, I had confirmed my conviction of what an evil and arrogant man he was. He did more harm to our social fabric, including the loss of innocent lives, than any single individual since Oliver Cromwell.

Today there is an amount of garbage in high office, but the arrogance is not quite so brazen as it was in the 1960s. All things considered, times are marginally better now. - T Kelly, Crook.

COUNTY HALL

JUST think: County Hall in Durham converted into a Metro-style centre with a multi-cinema complex and free parking for all!

It would benefit young and old alike, and restore the City of Durham to its original beauty for all to see and enjoy.

An idea, or reality? This is for the people of Durham to decide. I hope this letter will awaken debate. The residents of Durham have to decide what they want for Durham - not what the councillors want. - P Roxburgh, Framwellgate Moor, Durham.

STOCKTON

IS Stockton Labour Party's fear of an electoral trouncing at the hands of Thornaby's Independents on the increase?

A member of the party reported the Independents to the police for allegedly producing election leaflets at Thornaby Town Hall. He is fortunate that not everyone is so keen to waste the precious time of our overstretched force.

Then I received a phone call from a Labour canvasser. Upon being told that, despite being a lifetime Labour voter, I was interested in the Independents, she told me that no Independent candidate was standing in my ward.

Is this an infringement of electoral law? - Ian Ferguson, Thornaby-on-Tees.

WEST CORNFORTH

IN 1964, my wife and I moved to Coxhoe from West Cornforth. Coxhoe is a wonderful place to live. Lovely shops, a vibrant workingmen's club, regular bus transfers throughout the day to various destinations.

Yet we still miss West Cornforth. Why? Because we lived there for years. I think there was an atmosphere in West Cornforth, known as "Doggy". The togetherness shone throughout the village, the camaraderie was a thing you could almost touch. The village was a virus: the nearer you got the more you became infected.

Sadly, today shops stand boarded up in the main street. Tony closed his fish shop because of lack of trade. Common talk in the village says another public house will close this summer.

The demise of the village must be because of lack of employment. The biggest employer, Thrislington Colliery, closed in March 1967. - Jimmy Taylor, Coxhoe, Durham.

EASTBOURNE

WELL done all concerned with the musical concert on April 9 at Eastbourne Methodist Church.

The two choirs, girls and boys from Eastbourne School, were a credit to their dedicated music teacher.

To be able to perform to such a high standard in the same programme as the Northallerton Male Voice Choir was indeed a great achievement. - PL Hallworth, Darlington.

TINFOIL

FOR many years we have collected aluminium foil which we have passed on to charities. Now we have been told that it is no longer cost-effective for charities to process this material.

Perhaps someone or some organisation can find a use for foil. Please contact me on (01325) 468909. - RK Bradley, Darlington.