SIR, "How many people can our island hold?," Martyn Wheeler (December 10). If our island had to provide everything needed to sustain current lifestyles our population would have to be reduced to that of Central London - 10 million people. If we were talking about how many our farms can feed our population would have to be less than 35 million. It doesn't really matter which figure you choose, our population is way beyond what is sustainable. Sooner or later we shall face food shortages from climatic, environmental, or volcanic, catastrophes like the one which killed millions in the "Year Without Summer." Moreover, it's worth remembering Antarctica's ice cap has all melted some 65 times in the last 2 million years, which would be sufficient to put much of England beneath sea level.

Our politicians have already decided we are to live cheek by jowl with tens of millions of others, and be wholly dependent upon imported food from the rest of the world, which is soon going to have double the population it has now. We little people don't have a choice. That's why our politicians, who hide behind "Inspector" Clewes, are going to chuck up the concrete for another 30,000 homes, and dump another 80,000 people into our midst!

N TAYLOR Worcester