I LOVE almost every aspect of living near the centre of this beautiful city. However, barely a day or night goes by without the sound of a burglar alarm wailing.

I cannot believe that more than a tiny percentage are activated by burglars. It is clear that most are set off by accident: by the wind, by being badly installed, by nothing at all.

House alarms are the worst. They can sound for up to 20 minutes at a time. Car alarms are quicker, but just as irritating.

At night, whole streets are kept awake by sirens which are just as loud as car horns, but unlike car horns they are not illegal.

A third contributor to the pollution of our environment is the intense beam of a halogen security lamp, activated by every passing, cat, bat or innocent pedestrian.

I have sympathy with anyone who has suffered a burglary, but I fail to see how any of these alarms have much deterrent effect.

They have become so commonplace no one pays them any attention. I suspect the only beneficiaries are the manufacturers and installers of these devices, who are making a tidy profit out of the paranoid fears of householders and car owners who would do better spending their money on secure locks.

Jenny Hartland,

St Paul's Terrace, York.

Updated: 10:50 Saturday, September 11, 2004