YOU ran a feature with the title 'Floods of tears' (LET, August 20). At the end of this article we once again were given the benefit of the wisdom of " a spokesman for Friends of the Earth" who implied that this summer's rain storms and the resulting floods were due to global warming and would get more frequent unless we changed our ways.

The similar statement was also made by an ecologist in an interview about Boscastle on the radio earlier the same day.

A few weeks ago I read in your paper an article and editorial commenting about United Utilities urging people to use water carefully as last winter's rain had not been sufficient to full the reservoirs.

Now this is where my confusion starts. Our government have set up an organisation called "UK Climate Impacts Programme" (UKCIP).

On their website they very clearly state that two of the major effects of Global Warming would be 1. "Heavier, more intense rainfall during the winter" leading to increased flooding and 2. "Reduced summer rainfall" leading to less water in the rivers, reduced ground water and a shortage of drinking water.

Numerous scientific websites across the world concur with this.

I should say that in no way am I trying to disprove global warming. But the "green" organisations cannot have it both ways.

Either global warming causes reduced rainfall or it is responsible for the flooding which has affected parts of Lancashire during the past few summers.

To claim that both these are effects of global warming cause me to wonder about statements made by some of these organisations. How much is scientific fact and how much is plain scaremongering?

PETER DUERDEN, Countess Road, Lower Darwen.