I HAVE seen the irresponsible attitude of an Independent councillor on Great Aycliffe Town Council who openly refuses to wear a mask and even denies the virus exists (Echo, Oct 30).

My niece in Manchester works on back-to-back 12 hour shifts, seven days a week, on a Covid-secure ICU ward. Perhaps the councillor needs to go round this hospital and see the suffering of virus patients and explain to people who have lost loved ones.

Everyone in the sane world is asking what are we doing to combat this virus.

We must break the cycle of “boom and bust” lockdowns that means working towards a Covid-secure UK plan, thus creating an exit strategy that will protect both the health and wealth of the UK. Such a plan is the only viable proposal to avoid continuous lockdowns, school and workplace closures, until a vaccine or other protective remedy becomes available.

I think this councillor owes the people of Newton Aycliffe an apology for spreading false information. We have not seen anything like this for 100 years, so this might have been her own person view but it was dangerous and ill-advised.

Vince Crosby, Newton Aycliffe.