DRACO was an Athenian lawyer and lawgiver about 7BC.

DRACO was an Athenian lawyer and lawgiver about 7BC. His idea was to make every offence, from the most trivial, a capital one. It is from this person that the term 'draconian' is derived.

Drakown was also the Greek word for a giant serpent or dragon so it is possible that the word grew from the Athenian's opinion of all their lawgivers. Today, it seems that North Somerset Council has its own 'draconian' gangster lawgivers.

It may not seem likely that anyone will die as a direct result of the Tory decision to impose a 600 per cent rise in daycare prices. For these myopic mobsters, that would be too easy, they prefer to kill off a whole community for the crime of being over 60 years old.

In an attempt to pander to the prevalent target-driven political environment, they have selected the most vulnerable members of society, the one section they feel will not put up very much resistance. Daycare at �5.20 per day is expensive enough. For a person who would visit or use the facility five times a week, that equates to �26 out of an income of �130, barely above the poverty line in itself. The poverty line is a figure derived from 'household income below 60 per cent of median income'. The present median income in this country is �489 a week'; even Government figures struggle to make sense of poverty.

Life for many elderly people is filled with decisions, whether to choose between good staple food or extra electricity to keep their home warm for example. For people with early dementia and their carers the added stress is almost incalculable; the centres like the Severn Day Care Centre are a vital lifeline, as the Mercury says, they offer memory exercises in a bid to offset the progress of diseases like Alzheimer's.

It is to be wondered whether these people would cut down on the medication visits of care staff and social service personnel in a bid to remove the skin from yet another flint.

If people feel strongly enough to protect their elderly relations or neighbours, perhaps they should send a letter to North Somerset Council Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1UJ. Just imagine the impact 71,758 letters would have - and that is only from the population of Weston.

The letter from this ex-Tory voter is on its way.

LIONEL ANTHONY

Woodhill, Congresbury.