HOT on the heels of India launching a space rocket to land on the moon, it is announced Pakistan is selecting astronauts for its first crewed space mission in 2022.

As we all know this country has had a programme of austerity for nine years.

This has meant local councils, Darlington Borough Council and Durham County Council included, getting far less government grant, all schools having spending drastically reduced, and police budgets slashed. We cannot even afford to repair our many potholes.

And yet, we send £14,000 million (£14 billion) in overseas aid, every year.

Pakistan gets £402 million and India gets £52 million per year.

How can this be fair while the biggest growth in the use of UK food banks has just been announced?

Malcolm Dunstone, Darlington