As the financial burden of asylum seekers in this county becomes too much to bear, council tax payers are being faced with the prospect of sacrificing a pint of beer or a couple of flutters on the lottery every year to cover the extra cost of the Widdecombeian "flood of refugees".

There is a solution for those who criticise Government axing of vital community services but at the same time want lower taxes: offer British citizenship to asylum seekers with uncertain claims in exchange for a year of service to the community. This would demonstrate the commitment of refugees to "British values" of caring for the elderly, disabled and socially disadvantaged that we all extol but nobody wants to pay for.

Ironically, refugees would then be some of the few who actually practice so called "British Values".

-James Leake, Poulters Lane, Worthing