SCIENTISTS in their never ending quest for knowledge have discovered that caffeine is toxic to slugs. The deadly dose is the equivalent of 40 cups of coffee - some drink, some thirst, some slug!

Have the consequences been thought out? Even higher flying birds, a rush to the supermarkets by gardeners, a world coffee shortage, higher prices and better profits for producers, thick trails of slime rushing away from Starbucks....

And what about the slugs? Have they been asked for their opinion? Do they prefer the new "death by coffee" or the more traditional one in a beer trap?

We need not worry too much as we are told that it could take up to ten years to perfect this special blend. But what will it be called - CoffeeBate..?

Graham Tissiman,

Eastfield Avenue,

Haxby, York.

Updated: 10:35 Thursday, July 04, 2002