HOW dare the county council suggest possible tax increases of eight times the rate of inflation to cover their fiscal ineptitude? The last two years have seen increases of four and five times the rate of inflation and I for one have yet to see where this money has gone.

Our streets are still filthy, crime detection shows no appreciable rate of improvement and our showpiece hospital has devastated the quality of life of those living by it.

If the council has, as they say, an £8-10m shortfall, then I suggest they employ an accountant in the mould of the late Lord Weinstock who would, I suspect, employ sufficiently tight fiscal discipline to show a profit at year end.

The council must realise that we are not all on the salaries fire-fighters aspire to and any pay rise that most of us will get will be linked to the inflation figures produced by the Government.

Any council expenditure rise above this must be paid for through efficiencies and savings right across the board. The council will no doubt blame the Government for not giving them enough, but they have cried wolf too often, and it just will not wash any longer.

Fiscal competence, and dare one say "prudence", must be applied before we are all forced into bankruptcy by these draconian taxes.

D BACON, Worcester.