I WAS disappointed by your front page 'exclusive' (Echo, Sept 17).

The paper's normally very high standards of ethics and basic decency seem to have been ignored.

I am sure the article was factually correct but I feel there was an implication of something wrong or scandalous. Should the police sergeant have officiated at a football match whilst on the sick with stress?

Medical and managerial opinion was positive in that it would assist in his recovery and return to work. How enlightened and progressive.

I hope that The Northern Echo's staff would receive such understanding from the editor. I wish Sgt Miller all the best and hope that the publicity does not prove too stressful to him and his family.

The Northern Echo does not need to go in for such a story which I feel is intrusive and potentially harmful. - Stuart Hill, Darlington.

COUNTRYSIDE MARCH

DURING the last few weeks I have noticed a number of roadside signs from the 'Countryside Alliance' advocating a march for 'Freedom and Liberty'.

Anyone is entitled to wonder what are they fighting for. Is it: the way the supermarkets are ripping off the small farmer? No.

Are they fighting for improved public transport for rural villages? No.

Are they debating the effects of genetically modified crops on the countryside? No.

Do they want affordable housing for young people so they can live in the dales villages in which they were born and raised? No.

The introduction of an effective and efficient crisis management system for outbreaks of incidents such as foot-and-mouth? No.

The above list is not exhaustive but they are all real issues which fundamentally affect the countryside. So what is the Countryside Alliance fighting for? The continuation of fox hunting.

The Countryside Alliance knows if they called themselves by their true title - 'The Fox Hunting Supporters' - the vast majority of the British population would endorse every independent poll on fox hunting and condemn them.

I would respectfully remind the fox hunting supporters that they represent a tiny minority of the people of Britain and the fight for freedom and liberty has long been fought and won by the people of this nation, including fighting two world wars.

We all have a vote, it is called democracy. The people of Britain and the Parliament they elected are against fox hunting and this is enough to have this barbaric sport banned. - Trevor Nicholson, Northallerton.

I READ with interest the article by Richard Dodd (Echo, Sept 17) regarding a rural heritage.

It may surprise him to learn that, by and large, I agree with most of the points he mentions, particularly those referring to payments received by farmers compared to the charges made for them by the end retailer, but I would remind him that this form of injustice is suffered by urban businesses as well as rural, and that this injustice was not introduced by Tony Blair or his government.

The rural shop was not among the first casualties of the supermarket growth. It was the urban corner shop and high street stores. Many of our country towns no longer possess a centre worthy of a visit and Tony Blair is not to blame for this.

Rural transport is in a parlous state, but it was not Tony Blair who privatised our bus and rail companies.

Who then is to blame? We all know the answer and before Richard Dodd marches with his troops on September 22, his followers should reflect on the wisdom of creating a new division in our society - a rural-urban divide. - Alan Benn, Bedale.

WE need farms and farmers working the country and perhaps they should be subsidised to make it worthwhile to be in farming. Then the rural services would remain.

Small farms have steadily been taken over by larger concerns for quite some years now. But blaming the present Government for milk and meat prices is pointless.

I suggest that farmers cut out the middleman and deal more directly with the shops if possible. Also, marching on London to protest about four quite separate issues seem a bit vague. - F Atkinson, Shincliffe.

SHOW BUSINESS

JENNIFER Aniston reportedly says she wants to try something different (Echo, Sept 9). Her choice of something different is a sex scene in which she will appear semi-naked.

Of all the things she could have chosen to show versatility and to challenge her talents, why on earth has she chosen to expose herself performing an act which should be kept strictly private, not displayed on the screen?

Her husband Brad Pitt apparently does not mind her flaunting her semi-naked body for all the world to see. Nor does he disapprove of his wife appearing in so-called soft porn, it seems. Some husband.

If she aspires to being taken seriously as an actress she needs to look for better, more wholesome ways of developing her career. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

FIRE SERVICE

IF the fire service rota is two day shifts, two night shifts followed by four days off, and beds are provided for the night shifts, it means if there are no fires then there will be six days in every eight free to do a second job which many firemen do.

It also means that, when there are fires in the station's area, then a minimum of 75 per cent of the personnel are off duty.

It is hardly surprising that the Government wants to examine the working conditions before awarding a 40 per cent increase in pay. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.