DOES Della Canning, North Yorkshire's Chief Constable, think she is above the law just because she is chief constable ('Chief Constable takes hat off to buy booze',Evening Press, March 26)?

She ought to know better and when she is off duty, as a police officer, she should remove her hat and epaulettes, or cover them up with a coat, before entering the streets as a civilian.

Obviously, she thinks certain officers should be exempt from such rules - her being chief constable for instance.

Well, she should set a good example to her fellow officers and the public.

How we can ever hope to solve our drink problems when our own chief constable won't toe the line?

Brian Rogers,

Briar Avenue, York.

...I TAKE my hat off to Della Cannings, who has come to my attention through your columns on at least two memorable occasions in the past five months.

First, she leapt fully uniformed from her official car to personally apprehend some "scallies" who were up to no good in November last year, on her return journey from a Remembrance service.

Most recently, we learn she abided by the law by removing her hat and epaulettes when challenged - quite correctly - by a shopkeeper who refused to serve alcohol to her while she was in police uniform and, therefore assumed to be on duty. Ms Canning is clearly a "gutsy" woman who leads by example, and I hope others in less important jobs follow her lead. I also imagine that those who work with her are happy to do so in the knowledge she is the stuff of which true leaders are made.

The whole community has much to learn from her style of leadership.

Richard M. Billinge,

Heworth Village,

York.

...IN response to the March 26 picture/article and the largely irrelevant page 12 comment on the subject of Della Cannings taking off her hat and epaulettes to be able to buy a bottle of wine, a big point is that the chief constable should have been aware of the law as it stands (she heads the county organisation responsible for its enforcement) and not put the Tesco staff and herself in a position of embarrassment.

We payers of the police authority proportion of the council tax may be forgiven for expecting wine to be bought during an individual's own time, not during duty time, assuming the chief constable can ever really be regarded as off duty.

RA Paine,

Whenby Grove,

Huntington, York.

Updated: 10:57 Tuesday, March 30, 2004