WHAT is our country coming to? A headteacher was told she could face a prison sentence for slapping a pupil.

The police force is undermanned and bogged down by paperwork and the NHS short-staffed.

Tony Blair says he is keen on education but surely discipline should be brought to the forefront and this should start in the home and carry on into the classrooms.

If this was the case, crime rates would certainly fall and maybe with Gordon Brown's influx of cash for essential services, this country could start to be respected again - especially after years of neglect under the Tory administration.

D PARKER,

Worcester.