THE new police stations at Whitebirk and the railway station in Blackburn appear to have little effect on the service they provide to the public -- we still get an answer phone and are put in 'a queue.'

The operator tells you to hold on while she finds the log number. The line then goes dead and you're left in limbo. Is she coming back or isn't she? She isn't -- so you start all over again. Then at 1510 hours we're told the officer we needed left at 1500 hours and won't be back until Wednesday.

Unfortunately, the problem we had doesn't work flexi hours and should have been dealt with in the first instance when the officer attended.

SAM SPENCE, Ribblesdale Place, Blackburn.