Letter: To Hull and back

LSir: Your story on Hull ("Spin doctors go to Hull and back to give city a brand new image", 10 November) really was a gem. Gary Finn tells us that "councillors, business leaders and a team of image consultants arrived in the Big Apple ... hoping to learn a few lessons on how to dispel widely held myths of poverty, depression and crime."

Myths eh?

Hull is ranked as the 26th most deprived local authority area in England. The Breadline Britain Index estimates that 29 per cent of households in Hull live in poverty (compared with 19 per cent nationally). Residents of Hull have amongst the lowest wage rates in the country (364th out of 366 local authority areas). Hull has twice the national average of incidents of burglary (309 recorded instances per 10,000 population compared to 136 nationally). Hull City Council has a list of children in care which is three times the national average.

But let Hull residents not despair. Help is at hand. The Hull CityVision quango has gone to see New York and the brand consultant Wolff Olins has formulated a "two-decade image enhancement programme". Images can only get better.

PATRICIA KAYS

Hull