WE, AS well as many other of your readers, I suspect, were appalled to read about a drug user being freed from serving a jail sentence because his last episode in prison had an impact on him.

Obviously it did not have a good enough impact on him to stop him from making a cowardly attack on a disabled pensioner – people like him should be locked up and the key thrown away.

Judge Tabor QC quotes that the victim Mr Gouvier, will suffer the consequences of this assault for some time – then lets off the perpetrator – what signal does this give to the other thugs in the area.

Also where is the £500 compensation payment coming from?

Mr Gouvier has not much chance of seeing this in his lifetime as McKenna will probably pay it at 50 pence a week.

We were all pleased your reporter managed to get such a good photograph of McKenna and his mother so at least all the rest of us unsuspecting pensioners can avoid them.

SHEILA DICKINSON, SANDRA NOONAN,

PAULENE BARRETT, MARY STURMAN

and LESLIE BARTON

South Cerney