ACCORDING to John Cumberland, the UK “is turning into an overcrowded third world country fast” (HAS, Aug 9).

Overcrowded perhaps, but not at the moment Third World.

Overcrowding is one of the reasons, but only one, why more than 17m people voted to leave the EU.

They wanted to regain some control of the numbers coming into the UK by stopping freedom of movement and restricting entry to those who can make a worthwhile contribution to society.

John was very despondent about the road conditions in the UK when he left the channel port.

Our road surfaces are not perfect but overall they are very good. I recently drove 175 miles to Dumfries and Galloway, and the road surface was wonderful with no delays whatsoever.

True, this is not as far as John’s 1,500 miles, but he went through countries like Spain and France which are a lot bigger than the UK.

Breaking our journey halfway, I stopped at a garden centre with a wonderful cafe which was very clean. As for abandoned car tyres and general litter strewing the carriageways, I think John should be pointing the finger at the population in general and not at the police. Investing in CCTV at various points might be part of the answer together with heavy fines.

Mike Taylor, Darlington