SIR, — As the clock strikes midnight we wish one another a good or a happy New Year. I therefore try to imagine what was in the minds of the people who in the early hours of January 1 stole food from my father s freezer. Did they do it as a joke? Is it fu

SIR, - As the clock strikes midnight we wish one another a good or a happy New Year. I therefore try to imagine what was in the minds of the people who in the early hours of January 1 stole food from my father's freezer.

Did they do it as a joke? Is it funny to steal frozen food? Did they do it as an act of bravado or to gain notoriety? How brave do you need to be to steal food from an 88-year-old man who was asleep in his bed? Will this give you street credibility?

Why did they return the freezer baskets the following day? Was it because they wanted to get rid of incriminating evidence, or did they have a bit of a conscience? A note of apology and money to the value of the goods taken is the only way to expunge this bad deed.

Until this happens I know that they are not going to feel good nor will they be happy, and it is only just the start of the New Year!

MAUREEN McCAFFREY,

The Hill, Wheathampstead.