PEOPLE around the world put their clocks forward in spring and move them back in the autumn - but what is the point?

In this country, during the winter, we follow Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and in the summer, we skip an hour and this is called British Summer Time (BST).

And at the end of the month, (2am on Sunday, October 28) Our clocks are set to go back one hour - signally the end of BST.

The idea behind BST was to have more daylight in the evenings.

Some claim BST is better for health and fitness, with lives saved through fewer car accidents and that it would mean cheaper electricity bills for all as less energy would be required.

Whilst others are keen to stick to GMT, including some farmers and postal workers. Elsewhere in Scotland people complain that sticking to this would mean the sun would not rise until 10am, raising concerns for children walking to school.

Whilst I am sympathetic to the plight of farmers and other early morning workers, I for one think we should stay on BST for the good of the majority of people.

Generally I feel this would be better for the majority of children in the county as they would have more opportunity to play outside more, even as the light draws in.

I also think it would be a lot safer for drivers, especially as The Automobile Association believes about 100 lives each year.

Surely that alone is a no brainer.

I think this would also help to curb some of the affects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) as people would see the benefit of the light, perhaps after work, rather than before when they cannot really enjoy it.

However, I know some people will cry out ‘why not get up earlier’ but to that I say - how can you comfortably enjoy the time if you know you have to get off to work.

I also don’t know about you but talking of exercise, I would be no good to an employer if I went for a run or bicycle ride before work.

This issue has been debated for many years, particularly by Parliament but no complete change has happened, however some periods of deviation have taken place.

For example, between the summers of 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War, Britain was two hours ahead of GMT and operating on British Double Summer Time (BDST).