'LET'S put our children first' (Dr Connor, Your Letters, April 19) that's the whole problem and why the crime rate is so high today. Concerning his final paragraph, how can he possibly relate starving children to dogs. When have children consumed dog food!

I accept his point concerning dog fouling but am far more concerned over fly tipping and the general jettisoning of rubbish in the countryside by irresponsible people who have no standards whatsoever. May I commend Dr Connor to spend a day at an animal welfare rescue centre when he will observe how lovely they are and in certain cases the ill-treatment they have had inflicted upon them by adults and children.

M J LANE, Brotheridge Green, Hanley Castle.