Tunnel fears are justified : LETTERS

From Mr Douglas Pinnock Sir: I agree with Christian Wolmar about safety on the Channel tunnel passenger trains. On the return of my wife and I from a weekend in Paris, reached via Eurostar, we switched on the evening news and were confronted by the report of an attack on alleged security breaches at the terminals in London and Paris.

The reality is that the treatment of security is similar to that received when travelling from Heathrow Terminal One: hand luggage is X-rayed and selective searches are made of individuals' clothing.

Large items of luggage are stowed at the doorways to the carriage, and must be labelled with a specific seat number for Customs and Excise purposes and, hence, for security purposes. There were at least four plain-clothes officials viewing our passage through the access area, plus at least one uniformed police officer.

We couldn't have been more relaxed than on this four-hour journey from the suburbs of London to the heart of Paris.

Yours faithfully, Douglas Pinnock London, SW14

31 January