IWRITE in response to the recent spate of self congratulatory letters from Coun Derek Brindle and members of the Darwen Labour Party in an attempt to gain a little political credibility. But, as usual, they have missed the point.

The projected closure of Darwen police station at night was a symptom of the parlous state of county finances, not the objective.

The battle has not been won. It has just moved to a different battlefield.

The present Chief Constable, Mrs Pauline Clare, is struggling to balance a budget which she has, in the main, inherited with her office. Who decides the amount of that budget? Why, the present Labour majority on the County Council.

The hand being quicker than the eye, hey presto, Darwen police station is saved, allowing our love hero Coun Brindle to take the credit. Before you indulge in a round of back-slapping, Councillor, ask the residents of the county who have been saddled with cut-backs to the infrastructure of services if it was a price worth paying. All that has happened is that the savings have been made elsewhere - perhaps among those with less political clout.

Now, if Coun Brindle wants a cause to get his teeth into, he should raise the matter of the cost of the police helicopter. How many police officers could be employed, or how many town centres could be fitted with cameras at the same costs?

We have a saying in Lancashire: "You cut your cloth according to your purse." Well, it may be that our county seat is in need of more than a little darning.

D D'ARCY, Haslingden Old Road, Blackburn.

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