PATRICK HAYMAN, of Washabrook Way, Kingsbridge, writes:

Judging by the public’s interest in the previous election, the May 5 vote for the new police and crime commissioner would appear to be a pointless ­position and a waste of time and money, with the cost of running the election, then the yearly salary, plus staff and offices, all adding up for already stretched taxpayers.

To date I have received no information regarding who is standing for the position – if they are genuinely interested in the job, and not the glamour, it is surely up to them to contact us and not vice-versa.

All we hear of is cuts to front-line police and the closure of police stations, with talk of more neighbourhood watch and community officers, ­leaving the public paying more for fewer services.

People of my age well remember when many villages had a police officer and police house, and although a constable only had a bicycle and a notebook, they knew everything that went on and people felt respect for them and the law, whereas now authority gets ­little respect. But of course, it’s all down to ‘progress’ and money.

My personal observation is the disregard for obeying the law of using a mobile phone while driving, which I notice especially as I take my grandchildren to school or the parks, with motorists flying past ­chatting away, oblivious

to what is going on around them.

I know people have busy lives, but do they need to be addicted to their phones? Perhaps in the future scientists could invent a patch people can wear to cure their problem.

In this present climate, with the Government and councils telling us of the need for ­austerity and their favourite four-letter word, ‘cuts’, it all starts to wear a little thin as salaries at the top increase grotesquely and the wealthy look for more tax havens in which to hide their money. It proves that in no way are we ‘all in it together’, with millions of people working hard just to cope with the rising cost of ­living, with little reward.

All this talk of wealth reminds me that I must go and check my offshore funds, as I think I lost a 20p piece on Burgh Island.