YOUR Our View column, (Wardens should not take the place of proper bobbies, Oxford Mail, August 8), went down extremely well.

This is because of the obvious over-riding principle that we should not be policed by the local municipality any more than by private concerns.

But also as Oxford City Council does not invariably place its most apt or savoury employees in positions of responsibility.

We were almost amused, though, by the remark that, over a decade ago, “the fear was that they would attract candidates who would never have got anywhere near the requirements to be a police officer” without the addition of “such as they are”.

Of course, there are some very fine and intelligent individuals in our constabularies, together with many who are merely mentally and morally adequate, but there is a considerable number which makes a scenic railway look as straight as a Roman Road and/or the walls of a medieval keep seem paper-thin.

DAVID DIMENT

Riverside Court

Oxford