When I read in the national Press that a drugs baron who was nailed by police on his pager messages had been awarded £3,000 because they invaded his privacy, I couldn't believe it.

This was the astonishing judgement by the European Court of Human Rights.

This man was jailed in 1997 for smuggling ecstasy tablets worth £268,000 into the UK from Amsterdam.

No wonder the police are becoming disillusioned when a successful nine-month operation results in a criminal being rewarded.

Perhaps burglars can now claim compensation when police invade their privacy while searching for stolen goods.

-Mrs Joan Makin, Goldstone Villas, Hove