04/02/03

The decision is doubly baffling when, just up the road at Hartlepool, they allowed their opponents, Torquay United, to make the longest journey in the Football League.

It wouldn't have had anything to do with the Boro's reported injury problems would it?

The FA should conduct an immediate inquiry into this situation and, if there are any signs of improper conduct, then the club should be punished accordingly, if necessary by a points deduction. - Alan Johnson, Darlington.

FIRE SERVICE

ENTERING burning buildings, unsure as to the inherent dangers, is, in my opinion, a very dangerous occupation.

To attempt to 'measure' the danger by number of deaths is very short sighted, and appears to pay scant regard to firefighters' professionalism. Dealing with fires involving corrosive, explosive or toxic chemicals or extricating victims from road traffic accidents is dangerous and traumatic. Like all firefighters, I know through experience and training exactly what is entailed. Recently I received new training on mass decontamination after terrorist incidents.

Modern firefighters receive no pay increases after their four years in training other than an annual cost of living allowance generated by a pay formula based around the skills of a firefighter in 1977, and an additional increment after 15 years service.

Instead of being acknowledged financially for their skills, firefighters are being asked to accept a pay rise generated from the massive downsizing of the service itself.

The pay claim at £30,000 equates to a tax rise of 41p per tax payer per week without job losses.

The solution must be found through compromise, but whose life will it be that is affected, mine or yours? - Ian Hardy, Durham.

COUNCIL SERVICES

ONCE again we prepare ourselves for a massive increase in council tax in Durham, or do we?

Last year my council tax increased by over 14 per cent. The local authority blamed the Government general grant for being so poor.

Yet the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which is responsible for the general grants stated in a letter to me: "with the good increases in grant we have provided together with stable settlements, local councils should be able to deliver improvements to local services while setting reasonable council tax levels."

With the "good" three per cent increase in the grant to Durham last year, the conclusion must be that the Durham councils are very bad managers to have to put up council tax by 14 per cent.

This year, with an increase in the general grant reported at 6.5 per cent, double last year's, we already have reports of council officers wanting double figure increases in council tax again. Councillors themselves are hoping to keep any increase in single figures.

We must put pressure on our councils now, before it is to late. - T Jobling, Durham City.

WAR ON IRAQ

WHEN S Beaton (HAS, Jan 31) implies that those opposed to war with Iraq are cowards, is he or she aware that many of those publicly opposed to it include many members and former members of the armed forces (including myself) and military intelligence services who fought on the front line, while many of those who are pro-war have only fought from the safety of their armchair? - C MacArt, Spennymoor.

HAS our Government not lost sight of some background facts in the current US obsession to attack Iraq and remove Saddam?

This is a war about a son hell-bent on mopping up what his dear daddy left undone in the Gulf War.

This is also a President who binned the Kyoto Agreement to the detriment of future life on this planet.

So Saddam Hussein has violated UN sanctions. What's unique about that? Such non-adherence has earned Israel all the leniency and licence it requires in forced evictions and ethnic cleansing to extend its boundaries and thereby shamelessly flout numerous UN resolutions over almost four decades.

With the worldwide consensus for peace, we can but hope and pray accordingly. With the will, it is achievable. - Edward A Murtagh, Stockton.

FIREWORKS

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY support the campaign to have fireworks banned, except for November 5 and maybe selected public displays for special occasions.

I used to have a lovely dog and it was distressing to see the panic and his efforts to hide away from the noise when he heard fireworks. - EM Scarre, Darlington.

PLEASE let common sense prevail. Limit the use of fireworks to organised displays and don't sell fireworks until November 5. - K Raper, Darlington.

Bishop Auckland

IT is not Asda's relocation that is causing the trading problems in the town centre. It is the lack of car parking for shoppers.

The multi-storey car park used to have a time limit. Now it doesn't, so it fills with all day parkers rather than shoppers.

If customers think they are not going to find a parking space, they are not going to bother coming. It doesn't have to happen often.

All it needs is a couple of visits when they cannot find a space and they will not bother to try again. - Irene Macleod, Bishop Auckland.