SIR - Why do the train drivers think they warrant a £5,000 per year (17 per cent) pay rise? Nurses and doctors have had to accept 3.5 per cent.

The trains are late. They are not clean. Drivers cause accidents.

I have not been on a train for 20 years plus but this is what I have been told by friends.

I have used the National Express bus service. It may take just a little bit longer, but you do get there - on time I hasten to add.

Before any railway person writes back, my husband worked on the railway as a signalman at Great Horton signal box, which has now disappeared, and he had said many a time the trains were not late then. There were plenty of them. Also people on the railway took pride in their job.

I don't apologise for this letter. I just want to know how train drivers deserve 17 per cent rise when other people of the public sector can only have 3.5 per cent? They are holding people to ransom.

Mrs Pat Hirst, Charteris Road, Fairweather Green, Bradford.

SIR - So Saltaire village is to have signposts as far away as the M1, according to environment executive member Anne Hawkesworth. Why do councillors jump on to bandwagons in ignorance?

The existing traffic situation in Saltaire is chaotic, with widespread abuse of vehicle permits for non-resident Victoria Road traders. The situation is even worse March-October at weekends, with the Council letting off Victoria Hall for weddings. They have even sacked all the traffic wardens!

I was promised, by Councillor Thornton, that permit abuse (which he admitted) would end with the new traffic reorganisation by autumn 2000. Nothing has been done.

The present chairman of the Project Team also promised action by 2001. Council officers assured me over the telephone that this is imminent. Then we read that Councillor Hawkesworth intends to make matters worse.

The whole concept of world heritage status has been cant from beginning to end, with everything run for the benefit of local commerce. The only thing that made Saltaire World Heritage possible was the threat of legal action by the Salt's Trust against Bradford Council if all the civic buildings were not repaired.

Les Brotherton, Caroline Street, Saltaire.

SIR - Thank you for publishing the letter (January 5) by Eric Firth regarding "Religious Habit." I haven't laughed so much in a long time. We are God. Wow! That rules out the prayer "God help us" in future.

This great God "We" is doing such a great job to foster love between, and development of, the human race. Problems in places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Northern Ireland, Israel, Palestine, even Bradford, are probably due to the fact that this great God is supported by the holy trinity of Me, Me and Me.

Perhaps the problems of this little world are caused by people who really do believe that we, meaning themselves, are Gods, and that their way is the only way.

So I hope that Mr Firth doesn't mind if I stick to the old-fashioned God. The God who tells us honestly that if we want the world to be a better place, it is up to use to make it so. We are simply his hands.

As for religion hammering out the same old message, it has to, for that is the only message there is. Perhaps it is time that we started listening instead of ignoring.

Pip Wilcox, Roundwood Glen, Greengates, Bradford.

SIR - Following the European celebrations at the launch of the euro makes me wonder what earth these people are on! Surely it is obvious, even to those with limited intelligence, that this is another rip-off, a way to put prices up Eurowide before people realise it.

As we, the British, are not considered full members of the European Union, you may think this new currency will not affect us. Wrong! While we are not in this monetary system now, our entry is set for 2009.

Firstly, before we join the Eurobank, the rate of exchange will be biased toward the euro. As and when we join this monetary system, the prices of our essential commodities will escalate overnight, showing us to be the poor boy of Europe once again!

If you think that having a single currency will stop the farce of duty free, think again? The consolidation period of seven years before joining will give ample time for the government to introduce some diabolical scheme to offset this!

Trevor Williams-Berry, Bredon Avenue, Wrose.

SIR - In reply to the article of December 22 about my 19 pet cats, and the Council ordering me to reduce the number to 12 or face the courts.

I've also been advised by the Department of Environmental Health to reduce them to two or three or face the court.

Last year we volunteers at Cat Rescue neutered or helped financially to neuter just over 500 cats. We rehomed 615 cats and kittens, over two thirds of these from Council house tenants.

So far the costs of the Council's cases against me run at over £5,000.

Interestingly enough, last year I requested financial help from the Council's Community Chest fund to help extend our neutering campaign. I was turned down flat because of, I presume, shortage of funds.

No wonder when they are prepared to treat me as a criminal (I now have a record) and have me fight my case in court.

Let's hope the magistrates have more sense and compassion than a Council which will not face the stray problem head on. Thank you to all your readers for their letters of support, many of which have been sent direct to me, and also thank you T&A for the coverage.

Jenny Sampson (Cat Watch/Rescue), Rossmore Drive, Allerton.

SIR - Islamic fundamentalism has escalated since September 11 among the Pakistani youths of Bradford and as a direct result of the threatened war between India and Pakistan, the minority Indian community is living in fear.

It is time the elders took some positive action and guided youngsters to the true teachings of the Koran. Since the war on terrorism began, there has been mass-scale distribution of anti-West literature outside mosques.

As Muslims we have got to ask ourselves: if the West really was against Islam, why does it let so many Muslims come and live here every year, and why does it not deport all of us? Do we need this country more than it needs us? Does the media show Islam in a bad light or is it the Muslims who do Islam a disservice?

Once these questions have been answered, maybe Pakistani Muslims can stop feeling sorry for themselves, and try to emulate the success of the Indians.

I Khan, Leylands Lane, Bradford.

SIR - I would just like to say that I believe it is a great idea that the Government has finally realised that it is vital for Asians to speak English if they are to survive in this country.

It's about time people coming from Pakistan in particular learned how to speak English and overall make a better life for themselves. Critics should be ignored!

Tanveer Ahmed, Bishop Street, Manningham.