MY flabber is gasted - Burnley College has given away £60,000 of public money to its own staff.

What a kick in the teeth to all our local schools who can't afford new equipment and decent basic facilities.

What a chop in the solar-plexus to the schoolchildren of our town who have to share books.

Those lecturers and staff who resemble ambassadors of the Great Unwashed do so by choice, not lack of finance.

Giving them up to £150 each in Marks and Spencer vouchers is not going to smarten them up.

College principal John Smith and all the governors who took part in this grubby, inappropriate handout of public money must resign at once - lock, stock and voucher.

PETER JAMES, Bank Parade, Burnley.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.