That leaves her with £20.49.

Luckily they have a very kind hairdresser who visits the home every week and only charges £5.

These elderly people are the most vulnerable in our society and yet nobody seems to give them a thought.

If this is how this country treats the elderly then I have only one thing to say . . . shame on you. — Frances Jamieson, Cowgate, Dundee.

The Dundee City Council three bed flat they now have is in an appalling condition, and I don’t just mean décor-wise. I mean abject filth, including urine-sodden carpets, filthy underwear etc. which the previous tenant did not even attempt to dispose of. Furniture and other household refuse was dumped on the common stairwell.

My granddaughter now has to install a new kitchen and bathroom as well as the expected re-decoration of the whole house.

Like the mum who wrote to the Tele, if they had not been prepared to move they might have had to live in cramped accommodation for years. My granddaughter had to pay the previous occupier’s rent arrears of nearly £1000 before the council would allow the exchange to take place. — Unhappy Grandparent.

We must name the criminals when they are committed, no matter what age they are. Maybe the parents of the younger ones will take a bigger interest in them and what they are getting up to.

Then we must have a real deterrent like the birch — something they will remember and dread. If we do have community service, then those doing it should be made to wear bright orange overalls with Community Service on the back in bold black lettering.

As for prisons, there should be no easy life, no TV, no games rooms or training facilities. As for their human rights, these should be forfeited once somebody breaks the law and is found guilty.

As for those who take someone else’s life, they should forfeit their own. But which of our MSPs and MPs do we hear saying anything like this? All we hear is they are getting tougher on crime, but can any of us see this? Most people now accept it as part of every day life.

We have tried the goody–goody way and it is not working. — G. O. B.

Frightened and trying to shake to dog off, he ran on to the busy road and was almost knocked over by a passing car.

My anger to this day is because my son has not received an apology from the dog owner who ran away with the dog instead of coming to the aid of my child.

Consequently this owner was fined a measly £60.

My child has been left physically and psychologically scarred and received no compensation. The reason being although the dog had violently attacked another dog in the past, it had not attacked a human.

Let this story be a warning to always be cautious of unknown dogs.

There is no justice in the British compensation system. — Disgusted Dryburgh Mum.

The group was formed to seek solutions to the issues that member groups had in common across the area such as crime, substance misuse and poverty.

As a result, the group identified drug misuse as a major problem in the area and there was a feeling it was not being taken seriously, causing anger and hostility towards people involved in the misuse.

The group decided this issue needed to be addressed and set about gathering information to set up an action plan. It became clear drug misuse was not as black and white as we first thought and most addicts were also victims, too. Instead of being shunned by the community, they needed to be helped.

Over the past five years the group has met with the local authorities, police, councillors, DAAT, Adaction and the TCA. The meetings were to find out what services are available in Dundee. We then set out on study visits to other cities to find out what services they provided. We visited the Lynx Project in Edinburgh and the Phoenix Project in Glasgow. Both offered residential care and, more importantly, support when clients returned to the community.

Both these projects accepted referrals from all over Scotland but had none from Dundee. We met some clients of these projects and heard their side of the story. Their honesty and frankness about their addiction was at times humbling.

After five years has anything changed in Dundee? Abuse is worse. What was once practised in secret is now done openly in playparks and stairwells, which in turn causes communities to become victims of the problem. It’s a cause for concern that GPs are refusing to accept addicts on their lists.

We acknowledge some improvements have been made in Dundee, such as a reduction in referral times and Adaction being set up as an access point for information and advice. More outreach work is needed in the wider community and an option of residential care should be available whether it is in Dundee or a referral to a project in another city.

All through these five years the onus has always been on the group to provide evidence there is a problem with drugs in our community and to help prove our case further we have applied to The Scottish Community Action Research Fund for funding.

The group will continue to work towards seeking a solution to this problem and will work in partnership with all agencies involved and, of course, we will always listen to the community as we believe that their views are important. — S. Carrington, Chairperson DWCA, 595 South Road, Dundee.

The team is responsible for broadcasting sports output, which includes live commentary from matches each week, as well as covering and discussing any and all other sporting events.

If you have a passion for sports, or have ever fancied yourself as a football commentator, this could be for you. Full training is given.

For more information, e-mail manager@bridgefm.org.uk call us on 01382 496333 or check out our website www.bridgefm.org.uk — Scott Young, Station Manager, Bridge FM, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.