WE take a positive view of the influx into the North-East of workers from other European countries, including the estimated 50,000 people from Poland who have come to our region.

They are doing useful jobs, filling gaps in the market, enriching the culture of the region, and we should make them welcome.

It is perhaps inevitable that there will be tensions along the way as the workers settle in, and what we are starting to see within the taxi driving community in Bishop Auckland is a worrying example.

We appreciate the concerns of established taxi drivers who believe the competition for trade is being overstretched.

But EU citizens have a right to work in this country, just as British people can work in other parts of Europe, and stickers which state that taxis are driven by British drivers are divisive and inflammatory.

Our overriding concern is that small-scale disputes can easily grow into big ones. Small pockets of bad feeling can swell very quickly if care is not taken.

We have even heard of members of the Polish fraternity likening what is happening to Nazi Germany and that is silly talk. There are teething troubles which amount to tensions and rivalries, but they must not be blown out of proportion.

We therefore appeal to those with conflicting views to strive for greater understanding, to open constructive dialogue, and to calm down a potentially volatile situation.