I WAS amazed to read M J Turner's (The Citizen, March 29) when he criticizes the British people in 1948 and says they have "Little Englanders" mentality.

I don't think he was around in 1948, or perhaps his memory is not so good. The British people had just endured six years of war, we were on our knees, most of the arm forces had been demobbed, thousands were disabled, my brother included, and he regarded himself as lucky. Food was rationed, so was petrol, you could not even decorate the front room without getting a permit for the wallpaper -- times were bad.

I myself was called up to do my National Service but, when I went to register, the man in charge asked me what my occupation was. I told him I kept pigs and he told me to go home and look after my pigs, saying that we needed pig farmers as well as soldiers. And that is what I did for the next 25 years.

Apart from one year when I had a seven day holiday, I fed pigs for 365 days of the year. Yes, there was foot and mouth and swine fever, but there was a big difference -- we were free from interference from Brussels. We could vaccinate our pigs against swine fever if we wished. It only cost us 15 pence per pig. I did all mine and, although I fed them 90 per cent swill, I never had a case in all of the 25 years.

You always had to keep a look out for foot and mouth as it was the policy not to vaccinate but if you were unlucky enough to get it, speed was essential. Slaughter was in hours, not days, with burial on the farm the same day. I heard it said that the farmer's cat and dog had to go as well. In my opinion the difference now is that by the time the commissioners in Brussels have given their permission to vaccinate, the disease can be out of control, which is the case now.

Mr Turner isays that the EU is not perfect. It never will be,because it is trying to do the impossible. If the EU has its way their will be about 30 countries, with a possible 30 million people, all with different ways of life, with one government and one set of rules. It will never work in a thousand years.

Now in Mr Turner's eyes I must have the "Little Englander" mentality, whatever that is. I am not xenophobic. I just want our own government in London that is answerable to the British people. And, if we are not satisfied with them, we can throw them out. After all, I like to think that my kind (and there are a lot of us) helped to put the tick back in Great Britain.

Tom Roberts,

Norbreck Road, Little Bispham.