LETTER:Community care is best

From Mr David Mann and Mrs Daphne Mann

Sir: We were very pleased to see the Independent highlighting the controversy over village communities for the mentally handicapped.

Brian McGuinness, of Mencap, misrepresents the views of thousands of parents in implying that they want their relatives to be in hospital. What they want is the most suitable environment for their handicapped "children" which, for many, means village communities - an entirely different concept from the former mental handicap hospitals.

Yours faithfully,

DAVID MANN

DAPHNE MANN

Cobham, Surrey

27 March