I WRITE in response to your story "Wish you were here?" (February 3). As a York resident, I shared some disappointment that the city was not identified by King Sturge as a appropriate area for re-location of Government jobs.

Far more disappointing was you choice of photographs and captions, which combined with the headline, can be described at best as inappropriate.

You're a little late in jumping on the bandwagon that delights in North East industrial town bashing. The southern-based tabloids have been doing it for years, pretty much since towns such as Middlesbrough started to make genuine efforts to recover from the de-industrialisation which affected so many people.

But why does a northern, provincial newspaper have to stoop so low as to peddle the same, tired stereotypes as the Daily Mail?

I understand that a main objective of a newspaper is to pander to the prejudices of its readers, but York is too beautiful a city and has too much going for it, for people to have to start sticking the boot in to towns that are not historically fortunate enough to have daffodil-lined city walls.

Most people are aware that in any poll conducted tomorrow of England's most beautiful towns and cities, York's main competitors for a top five spot would not be Middlesbrough, Stockton, Sunderland and Newcastle.

I am pleased to be able to inform you that there is more to Middlesbrough than grim cooling towers, just as there is more to York than a beautiful Minster.

Dave Brown,

Poppleton Road,

Holgate,

York.

Updated: 10:13 Monday, March 01, 2004