We were met inside the door by an assistant who told me the carrier bag I had the air freshener in would be taken and returned when I was leaving.

I presume this is to prevent people leaving the store with stolen property inside such carrier bags.

My wife and myself have never been thieves and my children are only three years old. I was justifiably annoyed to find ourselves under this immediate, intrusive and very insulting level of scrutiny.

I have sympathy for shops that do not want to see their stock stolen. There are other options, such as alarming stock and store exits using CCTV, store detectives and the Duncan Project to combat theft.

I do not think it is acceptable to stigmatise honest shoppers. The store’s manager stated it is for my own benefit they took the bags so “I didn’t have to carry my shopping around with me.” I’m nearly 6 ft tall and the bag weighed about 6 ounces!

When asked what the store would do if I declined, I was told I would be required to leave. The manager couldn’t admit this is an arbitrary security measure, which treats the honest in the same unthinking way as the dishonest.

We left the store without doing any shopping and we won’t be back. — Colin Milne.

[Despite repeated attempts by the Tele to obtain comment from Toys ’R’ Us none had been received at the time of going to press.]

Give the offender the choice of prison or national service.

Obviously the crime committed would have a bearing on whether the candidate would be suitable.

The cost of incarcerating the average prisoner is £37,305. This cost equates with the pay for a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, a Flight Sergeant in the RAF or a Staff Sergeant in the Army.

Surely utilising our manpower in this way would benefit all? — Hilltown Hawk.

Schools with rolls of upwards of 1000 plus are far too big to be effective.

They can leave pupils feeling excluded, which impacts on pupil-teacher relationships and exam results.

No one is suggesting that smaller school rolls alone will produce better exam results.

But ideas aimed at raising standards in Dundee’s schools are surely worth investigating.

This should include limiting access to applications from outwith the city. — C.E.C.

NHS Tayside have vowed to improve this situation, but I call on NHS Tayside to publish their timescale for meeting their 18-week waiting time target, recognised by the National Waiting Times Unit.

It makes no sense for people to still have unnecessary long waits for an inexpensive but essential piece of equipment that can transform people’s everyday lives and reconnect them to friends, family and colleagues. — Delia Henry, Director RNID, Scotland.

I know he has a problem but I feel that in custody he will get the help that he needs. — Jimmy Borland, Dundee.

Wintry weather in April in Dundee is quite common, but is either sleet, hail or snow which doesn’t lie for long. — Weather Watcher.

I phoned the Dental Hospital and explained our situation, and we were told to come in the next day.

From the start of her treatment, she was dealt with in a professional manner — the staff, receptionists, nurses and dentists were kind, the dentists themselves were especially warm, gentle and sympathetic, their expertise was outstanding, even to the extent of talking my grandchild through an anti-anxiety session.

I cannot praise all the members of staff enough. A special thank you must go to June Fraser, whose professionalism throughout was absolutely outstanding. — Jeff Stewart.