CLLR John Whitelegg should know better than to attempt to blacken nuclear power with fairy stories.

First, Chernobyl was possibly the worst industrial disaster ever but it was not an accident. The design of the reactor made it potentially unstable under certain conditions and the operators were carrying out an experiment at low power when they lost control.

No other reactor has ever suffered such a problem - and Three Mile Island showed that even if multiple mistakes are made and safety devices do not work a well designed reactor will not behave in such a way.

All industrial devices, be they boilers, turbines or even transformers are dangerous. To live in perfect safety, and in the dark ages, turn them all off.

In the UK, we have yet to see an economically viable nuclear plant', said Mr Whitelegg in his letter. Really. Tell a big enough lie and keep on repeating it and people will believe you.

Nuclear plants have multi-decade lifespans, during which time they continually generate enough power to run cities the size of Birmingham without fail, regardless of whether the wind blows or the sun shines. In France 80 per cent of electrical energy is nuclear they don't make a fuss, they just do it.

Wind generators are not economically viable. When you look at the costs of construction, the steel, concrete and other specialised materials needed and then at the weedy amount of power they generate on the days when the wind is just right, you wonder why anyone bothers.

Then you see the subsidies the operators of such white elephants receive and you knowwhat makes them attractive.

I have a challenge for Dr Whitelegg and his friends. Take a 1 KW electric fire and make it run for a year on electricity generated solely by wind, wave and sun without hesitation, deviation or repetition and I will become a paid up member of his Green Party.

Henry Hicks, Lancaster.