I reada recent news article that the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales, was claiming that police officers were being driven to make "ludicrous" arrests to meet Government targets - arrests that include two children while playing with a toy pistol.

Given that police officers have, at least you would hope, a degree of common sense and are empowered to exercise discretion when dealing with infringements of the law, they have no excuse for making ludicrous arrests.

It is, therefore, evident that police officers choose to make arrests for minor infringements because they are too lazy to pursue muggers, burglars or the thousands of other true criminals in this country.

Nor can police officers claim that they are simply following the orders of their superiors - such a defence was destroyed with the Nuremberg Trials - as they are ultimately responsible for their own actions.

The news article reported that many police officers were supposedly "disillusioned" and were "considering quitting". The sooner these "disillusioned" police officers quit, the better, as the people of this country deserve better than police officers who spend all their time arresting children for playing games.

BARRY LOVELL, Ash Close, Faringdon