SIR - A recent contributor to Five Minutes With said that his biggest fear is getting old, and that he would like to see the end of the nanny state.

Well, he can rest assured that when he does get old there will be little sign of the nanny state when it comes to his care, especially if he suffers from age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and stroke illness.

The chances are that he and his family will be left to get on with it and there will be little interest from nanny'.

DEREK FEARNSIDE, Worcester