SIR – I could not believe the events that led to a mother deciding to end her disabled daughter’s life and her own in such an horrific way in an inferno in a car that she set on fire.

Today, law-abiding people can suffer the most appalling acts of violence and criminal damage and beg for something to be done, not days, not weeks, not months but years, ending sometimes in suicide.

Why? Because we are told the police are too busy tackling more serious crime.

In contrast, when lawless gangs torment decent people for years who, finally at their wits end in desperation, try to put an end to it themselves, would you believe, the well known indescribable untouchable misfits in our society complain to the police.

Now it’s a different scenario, the police respond with alacrity and immediately take the decent citizen into custody for questioning overnight, leaving the family vulnerable and distraught and, would you believe, they leave the real perpetrators free to continue to terrorise anybody they choose.

And, again in contrast, whoever heard of a football match having to be cancelled because no police were available because they had a much higher priority eg: tackling crime?

J Freeman,
Worcester.