I SAT, on Sunday morning, in total shock and bewilderment, at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

We are all eager to point the finger at someone who should be punished for this terrible event, then maybe we would feel just a little better about the whole incident.

But how hypocritical, when on one hand we desperately mourn the loss of a person for whom we genuinely cared and on the other hand, we too, like the editors of "those kinds of newspapers," have blood on our hands!

I don't need to mention the types of papers that 'sell well,' but people buy them in their millions, packed with stories and exploitive pictures of sex, sleaze and scandals. Someone is buying them, is it you?

The British public have sadly come to rely upon this diet of unhealthy reading, almost without realising.

How many of you will admit that you are attracted to these papers and you even feel deprived if you don't happen to buy one.

Diana, Princess of Wales, died at the hands of the greedy press, but who do these papers sell to? We have helped create this barrage of supply and demand, young and old alike, and we too have to take the blame for Diana's death. You may think this letter is a but strong, but without readers, there would be no "Diana industry" and no market for pure exploitive material.

The paparazzi wouldn't even have work. It really is time to look at yourself and decide whether you will continue to buy such papers.

Let's see who do we blame for this tragic event. Is the answer not as 'cut and dried' as before? Are you willing to accept responsibility?

CAROLYNE LOBB, Station Road, Huncoat, Accrington.

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