Light in the darkness

ALL local authorities should stop wasting money and energy on overnight lighting. Darker nights give humans healthier sleep and allow light-sensitive wildlife to come out and feed.

Darkness should discourage bored youths from midnight car cruising and nightclubbers from walking homewards alone at 2am.

Anyone that lives on a darkened street but leaves a so-called “security” light on outside is making life easier for intruders and worse for their neighbours.

There is no 24-hour society, and “keeping the lights on” is only a slogan, not a sign of mature civilisation.

The waste of warfare

From: Peter Hyde, Kendale View, Driffield, East Yorkshire.

WATCHING the repatriation of the body of a young soldier on TV, it infuriates me to hear the announcer state “he died for his country”.

That is simply not true. He died because Tony Blair sucked up to George W Bush and dragged us into a war that is no concern of ours.

When we finally leave Afghanistan, which will become inevitable, the Taliban will return. So why waste young lives and money trying to prop up a corrupt government and give false hope to young women who will once again be subjected to out-of-date practices, after we have gone?

We are broke and yet millions are being wasted on this conflict.

Not alone

From: Douglas Miller, Sheffield.

YOUR correspondent Arthur Boynton informs us (Yorkshire Post, December 16) that England stood alone in 1939. I was under the impression that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were involved as well. Perhaps my history teacher misinformed me?