They have minimal seating, and one of their main aims is to get customers to consume as much alcohol as possible.

Such pubs exist in most large towns and cities in the UK. Pubs such as these are presumably encouraged because they can pay high rates.

The Brewery Tap is an example of a pub with individuality, which has a vast age range among its customers.

It is scheduled to be demolished when the Westgate redevelopment starts.

There should be a place in Peterborough for a variety of pubs appealing to a variety of tastes and ages.

Opportunities have been, and are still being, missed.

The policy appears to be mainstream-type venues or nothing.

In the near future and beyond, I anticipate that I will visit venues in my locality rather than the centre.

Ian Aunger
Dogsthorpe Road,
Peterborough


What about demon drink

Now we are to have pictures of diseased body parts on cigarettee packets, which I think is a bit drastic.

I had three friends die of cancer, but they never smoked.

I smoked, but not now, and worked with lead paint and asbestos since 1951. I think I am still here.

If the anti-smokers are concerned with the problems of health, how about pictures of mangled and dismembered bodies in car accidents, caused through drink in cans and bottles?

This is of enormous cost to the NHS.

I have never known a cigarette to cause a road accident or stabbing, domestic violence, or liver disease.

To be fair, drinking in pubs should be banned as well as smoking.

I think there was nothing more pleasant than to enter a pub and smell the beer and cigarette smoke on a cold damp winter's night, and the social atmosphere.

I did it for years, and at 72 I don't have even a cough.

If it is so bad for us, why are the nursing homes full of really old people who all smoked in the war?

No, it's just another nail in the coffin of our enjoyment. that's why all the pubs are shutting down.

R Lane
Franklyn Crescent,
Peterborough


Sex trade exploitation needs to be highlighted

I read the report on the trial of two Peterborough men accused of trafficking a young girl from Slovakia into England.

Thank you for shedding some light on this issue.

Readers may be interested that young women and children are being exploited in the so-called "sex industry", or as slaves in other industries, such as cocoa bean harvesting in Cote D'Ivoire in Africa.

There is an organisation dedicated to stopping the trafficking of people and informing us about how we can help. It's called Stop the Traffic and has a very informative website at www.stopthetraffik.org.

I receive regular newsletters from them, which I find informative and often moving.

Nick Campling
Dunsberry,
Bretton,
Peterborough