WHAT a lot of absolute drivel over one lone rat ("Mum's Anger At Bin Rat Charge", November 25)! My mother, or grandmother, would soon have got the spade to it without a second thought, never mind contacting the local paper.

As for charging Miss Faulkner to remove the poor creature, this sort of cost, like that for removing wasps' nests, has to be paid for by the householder doesn't it? Except for those who are already well cosseted by the system apparently.

Only a couple of weeks ago, a similar hard luck story concerned another lady who couldn't cope with her simple waste problem and finished up with a garden full of rubbish that needed a special, expensive collection to clear it. Again featured quite unnecessarily in your paper, and again demonstrating the lack of responsibility demonstrated by some of today's dependents.

And it is all demanded, let alone taken for granted!

Phil Fowler,

Bramble Dene,

Woodthorpe,

York.

Updated: 09:10 Tuesday, November 29, 2005