I DON'T live on a holiday site and I don't necessarily disagree with Craven District Council's Licensing Committee about people living on caravan sites for a part of the year and 'holidaying' elsewhere for the rest of the year to avoid paying council tax (Call for action on council tax 'loophole', Craven Herald, October 14).

However, I'm sure a lot of these people would be happier to stay on their site all year paying council tax and not have to move out for a few months. That though is a fault with the system, not with the people choosing that lifestyle.

My problem is why single out old police officers as wealthy retirees on fat pensions.

I retired over ten years ago as a police officer and have had to work part-time until now (state pension about to start) to have a reasonable standard of living and know many police officers who have had to do the same.

Yes the police pension is good but it is not a gift from a grateful government. When I joined in the early 1980s we had the most amount of money possible taken from our salaries to put into the pension scheme.

As a young married officer working and living in London that made things very tight, but you put up with it for the sake of your old age. I'm sure the same is true for young officers just starting their careers nowadays.

In the areas of London I policed, the main worry when you went to work was whether you would get home to see your wife and children at the end of the shift or be in the local A&E, or worse never going home again. Police officers risk their lives and pay a lot of their wages to get a reasonable pension, so give us a break and pick on people who do get mega pensions for very little risk - politicians and senior council officials might be a good target!.

 

Paul Morley

Long Preston