LETTER : The military effect on lager louts

Sir: It is hard to think of anything good stemming from the abduction, attempted rape and brutal killing of a young Danish woman in Cyprus by three drunken British soldiers.

However, that appalling affair may give pause, at least, to those who urge the return of national service as a way of giving "a taste of discipline" to those who nightly make merry and mayhem in our town centres.

The stomach-churning events of that night in Cyprus confirmed that military service does not create model citizens. Instead, in some cases, it merely converts lager louts into licentious soldiers.

Mike Bird

Chorleywood, Hertfordshire