REGARDING the proposed demolition - civic vandalism, I call it - of the tower block flats in Blackburn, in other towns the vandalism and crime that plague many blocks is not tolerated.

Councils are installing computer systems that record when tenants enter and leave and when they let in visitors.

These supplement security cameras and entry phones.

Research shows that despite all the 'Big Brother is watching you' implications, the majority of tenants are massively in favour of it - although many of those who aren't leave.

The result is that few flats are vacant and ground-floor flats, easy to break into and which had been empty and boarded up, have been let.

The new technology can also be used to warn staff when a tenant appears to have fallen ill or died or when a flat is being frequently visited for drug dealing.

CHRIS WRIGLEY, Ballantrae Road, Blackburn.

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