SIR - The low-life who desecrated Len Shackleton's memorial display and inflicted thousands of pounds worth of damage on Park Avenue Football Club - a club essentially run by volunteers - deserves absolutely no mercy if brought before the courts.

But what angers me more than the miscreants is the army of pseudo-liberals who will doubtless try to downgrade this crime as anti-social behaviour and not worthy of a prison sentence.

Their legal defence will explore every avenue to give these people' a second chance and bring alcohol, drugs or so-called depravity excuses into the arena.

And if this fails they will turn to the good old Human Rights Act - that faithful friend of many modern villains and scoundrels.

If this fails one can assume that the lack of prison cell spaces will ensure they keep their liberty.

I utterly despair of this country, lawlessness is getting worse and no amount of police or Home Office statistics will convince me otherwise.

T Williams, Park Road, Bingley