I HAVE recently returned from a New Year's trip to Las Vegas. I will let readers come to their own conclusions after reading this.

On New Year's Eve the Las Vegas strip was closed to all traffic. All commercial flights were cancelled. The sky was patrolled by armed helicopters.

The strip is three and a half miles long. It was crammed from end to end with crowds of people partying. Along the middle of the strip there were hundreds of armed police lined up. Mounted police trotted along the strip and moved into the crowd at any sign of trouble. There were a few incidents but considering the amount of people that would be expected, and they were stopped immediately by the massive police presence.

A police officer approached by a TV crew patted his holster and said if we see any terrorist activity, the terrorists are going down.

At no time did our party feel anything but safe, totally safe.

At midnight, we watched a half a million pound firework display from the top of the hotels. By 1am the massive crowds started to disperse into the hotels and casinos.

You can imagine the rubbish that was left with such a big crowd the whole strip was strewn with beer cans and take-away cartons.

Seven hours later I went for a walk and the place was spotless. I couldn't believe it had been cleared away so quickly and efficiently.

BILL WILLIAMS

Covingham