This is inaccurate. People seeking asylum get support which is similar to Job Seekers Allowance, £42. Also, it is cash, not vouchers. They get automatic accommodation and are housed within days of being dispersed, free heating and lighting. This only stops when they have exhausted all appeals which have so far taken years in most cases.

After this they can apply to get vouchers. Anyone with children never get support stopped, even when they have no legal right to stay. Pregnant women get £300 when their child is born.

R HICKS, Seacroft, Leeds

Mail disorder

WHILE I haven't received the same postcard as highlighted in the YEP (November 18), I can make the following comments about the service being provided in Leeds area:

1) Both first and second class letters are taking excessively long to reach their destination, regardless of whether that is in Leeds area or much further afield eg Scotland;

2) Some second class letters reach their destination the day after being posted, yet first class letters take longer;

3) The sorting office machinery regularly rips envelopes to shreds, regardless of how well stuck down they are, even with extra sellotape attached;

4) Complaints to Royal Mail about this merely produce a standard reply which contains no specific statements relevant to the exact points made.

Jim Kerr, Leeds

Let's not forget

I WAS at the Leeds Christmas lights switch last Thursday night. I thought it was fantastic and enjoyable for the kids when Santa Claus and the robin came on stage.

Christmastime is wonderful and magic but we all have to remember about old people that have no families or friends and that are sitting at home, or kids that are in hospital over the Christmas period. Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Jonathan Chapman, Redwood Avenue, Wakefield

Different ball game

IT seems overpaid professional football players have no fear of the oncoming recession. Christiano Ronaldo asked his agent to get a new contract for £20,000 per week on top of his £120,000. No thought there for the poor supporters who will not be able to afford to watch him play. Pity he wasn't part of a circus then we could ask him to go out there and break a leg.

M A MYERS, Selby