I CANNOT believe tears will be shed over the fate of Cants the rose growers at Great Horkesley.

After all, they were instrumental in sealing their own fate by selling their land to developers.

The only people I sympathise with are those living in Ford Lane and the old part of the A134 who have thus awful housing estate dumped on them - a little more of rural England lost forever.

The respect for this business was evaporated when they sold the land and I am sure this is why customers have stayed away.

Local people are extremely angry with Cants and who can only blame themselves.

Ken Drury Laburnum Way, Nayland

  • It isn't cruel to ask people to pay for their old age care

A HOUSE is just an asset, one that you need to use to finance your old age – it isn’t cruel to ask people to pay for themselves.

We should be heartily grateful if we reach old age – and those who can afford it should pay for their social care – so others who can’t – can have the same – someone has to pay.

Whatever you think of the current policies, the triple lock is expensive and unsustainable.

So, the Tories are right to dump it.

This is at a time when inflation is rising – which means, there is a good chance that – future pay rises and inflation will be above 2.5 per cent anyway, and pensioners won’t lose out.

The most controversial story is the proposed change to social care costs – now, no one will get thrown out of their home – that’s got to be good.

If nothing else, this solution is at least fair, and in a manner that many people struggle to associate with the Conservative Party – the wealthier you are, the more you pay.

When these policies come into effect – and you have an explicit liability, insurers will seize the opportunity to cover your risk – and if you’re going to be stuffed by a bunch of politicians, I guess this is possibly the least bad option on the table right now.

The Tories with their unapologetic manifesto show they are not going to be afraid to push through some unpopular changes – they are not trying to buy votes – they are going to try to run the UK like it should be – fair for everyone.

Peter Cairns Lake Walk, Clacton

  • Those at lower end of scale hit hardest

The Conservative election manifesto is out, and Mrs May keeps telling us she is trying to get a better deal for the poorer end of the electorate, the, as she describes them, “just about managing”.

Surely her intention to reduce the “triple lock” on pensions will directly affect those people at the lower end of the scale who rely on their state pensions as their main source of income?

Many, many pensioners are not in the happy position of having an index linked company pension.

A lot have seen their pensions depleted through no fault of their own; the collapse of a number of pension providers, for instance.

Until recently firms were not required to provide a company pension scheme.

For those who saved in a personal pension scheme without any funding being provided by their employer, many, like me found that through market forces and the ineptitude of those who should have known better, their pension pot only amounted to the actual amount they had put in.

Valerie Dent Station Road, Wakes Colne

  • Justice hasn’t got better since 1980s

Your comment on police response seem to indicate this situation is recent. This is just not so. Colchester’s police have been bad for a long time to my personal knowledge.

In the Eighties, I was a victim of a road rager who stopped my van, opened the door, beat me senseless, stabbed me with a piece of plastic ripped from the centre of the steering wheel until I feigned unconsciousness for him to stop.

The whole time this was happening, the incident was being observed by an off-duty policeman, stopped to watch on the opposite carriageway.

My van was equipped with a CB radio, I called for assistance on air , which meant I had to stay with my assailant’s vehicle to relay the details. A policeman caught up and inserted himself between me and the assailant.

When the police officer approached him, he got flatten, then the bloke came after me again, so I left.

Shortly after this, I met the police officer and while speaking to him, lo and behold the assailant turned up in the close where we were standing.

The policemen with me went to speak to him and thy got flattened. They called for help and two more officers turned and it took all four of them to arrest him.

Now, I had been assaulted, five police officers had been assaulted.

Have a guess what this man got when he was charged? A £50 fine!

WG Chapman Nelson Road, Lexden, Colchester

  • Foolish to overbuild in driest country

PREVIOUS civilisations have had to abandon cities because of water shortages.

Is it sensible to build thousands of houses in the driest part of the country without thinking if there are enough resources to sustain them that includes a sufficient number of jobs?

We have seen traffic problems and pollution hot spots caused by unregulated development.

Colchester Council has done nothing nothing to improve and the building of “garden cities” will make the situation worse and future generations will suffer.

Councils competing to get the biggest New Homes Bonus is irresponsible and stupid.

It is an over-reliance on modern technology which will lead to our downfall with many government projects running over budge and failing to deliver.

After only a few years smart meters are failing to work.

People will get tired of this and go back to a simpler way of life where they were brought up to pay their bills and live within their means.

To succeed, the Government must do likewise.

John Culley Fox Street, Ardleigh

  • State of our town beggars belief

The High Street in Colchester now has over a half of beggars who are very young.

As many as six, and now a new one, a girl of about 16 or 17.

Get the police on the case before it goes up to a dozen.

L Williamson Wheatfield Road, Stanway

  • Join our Great British bee count in June

Our bees aren’t just an iconic sign of a British summer, they are vital for pollinating much of the food we enjoy every day and the wildflowers that decorate our countryside.

But Britain’s bees are under threat, with about 35 UK species considered to be at risk of extinction, from loss of habitats, pesticides and intensive farming.

Friends of the Earth is running the Great British Bee Count, until June 30.

Visit greatbritishbeecount.co.uk or download a free app to find out more about the bees and what you can do to help them.

Craig Bennett Chief executive Friends of the Earth