FOR eight years this government has promised a crackdown on crime, and with a forthcoming election the promises start again.

A word of advice Tony, had this government spent as much time on beating crime as they spent on fox hunting (700 hours and still counting) our streets and homes would be safer.

Members of my family, both in their eighties, have just been burgled for the third time over a fairly short period, this at six thirty in the evening when both were home but not strong enough to tackle the intruder.

In today's climate the list of crimes on my monthly news sheet feature more crimes in a month than we used to see in years.

There are two main things that contribute to this, one the closing down of local police stations to such an extent that we rarely see a policeman on the street, and two, the punishment no longer fits the crime. Most criminals are given too many chances to reoffend, a slap on the wrist and go out and do it again, even prison sentences no longer reflect the amount of time of the original sentence.

In my mind fox hunting is not a criminal offence, mugging and robbing elderly people who can no longer defend themselves is, so don't let's see police using valuable time to police fox hunts, put them on the street to combat today's criminals.

The criminal and the fox have one thing in common, they are both vermin.

H FITCHETT

Wroughton