I CAN'T be alone in noticing that the number of letters used in the Citizen from local councillors in the last few weeks appears to have shot through the roof.

Some of these eminent elected representatives are regular correspondents - but some of those now penning their prose have been, to say the least, noticeably quieter than others in the past.

In fact, some of these councillors are people who I had never heard of until now - yet here they are suddenly writing to the paper to let us know how knowledgeable and busy they are.

Call me an old cynic if you like, but you could almost think that an election is coming up at some time in the not-too-distant future.

H Hughes, Lancaster.