I WONDER if regular readers will remember my letter in March of this year highlighting the disappearance of affordable first-time buyers' homes into the rental market.

I predicted a return to a Victorian system of a few rich landlords and many poor tenants and the end of our proud boast of being a home-owning democracy.

After reading the property supplement in this week's paper I am staggered how much further we have gone down this road in only six months. A count now reveals that rental property outnumbers property for sale under £75,000 by a ratio of four to one.

In Europe, living your entire life in rented property is more common, but, importantly, these properties have a far lower comparable rent value, and many are government-subsidised. Furthermore, the tenant has many of the rights normally only afforded to owner/occupiers.

We used to have something along those lines here. They were called council houses. While they were not ideal, they were a far better deal than the private landlord system into which we are sinking.

PAUL CLARKE,

Blackpole, Worcester.