Sir, – I was delighted to see the names of the candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire in the D&S Times last week – otherwise I would have remained in ignorance, probably until polling day!

The whole procedure seems to have suffered from a lack of information throughout, 18 days before is too close to the election date for me to be receiving the first fragments of information about such an important role.

Having now researched both candidates and found myself not much wiser about the role, their ideas, where the funding will come from, how much knowledge of police procedure they have, and how they intend to pay equal attention to both urban and remote rural communities across this vast region, I am not convinced of the wisdom of this procedure. In fact, I find myself in a dilemma.

Should I simply not vote, despite having voted at every election of every type since I became old enough to vote, some 42 years ago?

Or should I simply turn up and spoil my ballot paper?

That at least would indicate my opinion on the subject!

When can we expect to see both candidates in the Upper Dales for a question-and-answer session? and how will they let us know the date, time and location of their visits?

VIVIENNE METCALF Thoralby, Leyburn