THERE are two organisations which are leading us into a state of poverty in this area.

One is Lancaster City Council with its policy of service cuts and inflation busting council tax rises and the other is British Energy, which operates the two nuclear power stations at Heysham.

To do the job right I suggest these two apply for registered charity status because that is the basis on which their existence is being allowed to continue,

The financial burden they put on the public purse is unsustainable, though when you look at their rates of pay, generous holidays and inflation-proof pensions it is hardly surprising.

British Energy failed to make its council tax payments a couple of years ago, a fact we only discovered due to the whistle-blowing of a Green councillor.

The Labour government gave BE a £250 million emergency loan in 2003 and in March this year completed a £5 billion rescue of the company.

Heysham One was again shut down at the end of January due to a generator problem and is becoming increasingly unreliable due to its age and past practice of a lack of maintenance.

I would like to be informed of the total amount of public money used to date to fund BE's losses since privatisation. I also seriously question the legality of this action when BE is supposed to be a private company.

If the nuclear industry is allowed to continue to operate when the oil and gas runs out the inevitable fact is that our electricity bills are going to increase to a staggering level.

So why is the nuclear industry being allowed to continue? Could it be because its waste product provides the essential ingredient for the defence industry to continue supplying the world with weapons of mass destruction?

Mr S Williams, Morecambe.