Fear of crime in rural areas is probably at its highest during these long dark nights of December and January.

Householders should be helped in their defence against crime through the Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

Unfortunately, many are unaware of the existence of a local Neighbourhood Watch group or have not been encouraged to join.

In discussions with the local police, at a Ripple Parish Council meeting, I suggested we could help by actively promoting membership and extended coverage of Neighbour-hood Watch groups.

The police, however, refused to provide the parish council with any information on existing groups, as these details are protected under the Data Protection Act.

I posed the question to our MP, Sir Michael Spicer and he contacted Peter Hampson, Chief Constable of West Mercia, who repeated and supported the police attitude, whereby protection of data seems more important than the protection of people and their property.

The police, despite their resource constraints, appear content to stand behind their interpretation of a law, rather than to promote and encourage initiatives for greater community involvement in the battle against rural crime.

Michael Ostick, Holly Green, Upton-upon-Severn.