THERE was a letter in a broadsheet this week signed by leading figures in local government. They were requesting that more decisions should be made locally rather than nationally.

"Well they would wouldn't they," as Mandy Rice Davies once notoriously said. The heartfelt plea was probably at least partially provoked by the clear intention of this government to disempower the county councils whose activities have not always accorded with the national grand plan.

Here are a few examples of the work of local councils: l A man in Staffordshire, who spent £1500 of his own taxed income cleaning up and re-turfing a piece of council land behind his home that for 30 years had been an dumping ground for rubbish, has been ordered to restore it to its original state or face prosecution.

l A retired squadron leader lollipop man on the Isle of Man, who temporarily deserted his post to help a group of children who were struggling to cross a junction a few yards away, has been sacked for misconduct.

l A 73-year-old pensioner was not allowed to board a bus carrying a tin of emulsion. Under Health and Safety Regulations paint is classed a "hazardous substance" and must be carried in two containers (e.g. a tin and a box or bag). That local authority and its driver saved many lives that day.

l Bristol County Council recently planted 100 yew trees near a children's play area. A risk assessment has now revealed that the leaves are poisonous and even though they taste unappealing enough to deter any child from consuming a fraction of the amount required to affect their health, they are now all to be dug up again.

l In Somerset, a lifeguard and her husband (ironically enough a health and safety officer) were not allowed to take their three children swimming in the municipal baths because council rules required every child to be accompanied by an adult.

And the NHS Trusts don't want to be left out of the act. Nurses in Cornwall have been ordered to keep a record of chocolates, flowers and other gifts they receive from grateful patients. They have to fill in a form itemising the details of the donor and the value of the gift. The results will be analysed to measure patient satisfaction.

And anyway, we are not patients, but clients, apparently.

Our patience has clearly run out!