I AM writing to express my anger at Bury Council's decision to allow so-called "asylum seekers" into the borough. They have been allowed into other counties and have a very bad track record.

Kent has had enough of all the financial and social problems and won't take any more. Local people were reportedly attacked and the soaring crime rate led them to "shut up shop".

My wife and I both work full-time and pay our taxes. We have a child who attends a local school with a class size of 36. How are the council going to find all the extra school places when conditions are appalling now? And I won't go into the state of the local hospitals!

Why doesn't Tony Blair have them in Kensington, Chelsea or Knightsbridge? It's because the prosperous people of those areas would not tolerate them. But I suppose the poverty-stricken northerners will have to make room.

I hope the people of Bury write to their MPs and protest against something that will undoubtedly cause problems in our borough.

MR R. JONES

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