SIR, – Are we heading for seasonal worker Armageddon? Almost certainly, but there will still be strawberries at Wimbledon and sprouts at Christmas.

They may be more expensive and come from abroad, but the supermarkets will make sure they are still available. And will the consumer care? I don’t think so. They will take the view, if we can’t keep our house in order that’s our problem!

In this area, we have a lot of eastern European workers and although there may be the odd bad apple, in the main I have found them to be decent and hard working people. They remind me of the farm worker in the Borders in the 1960s, who knew what work ethic meant.

Although I sympathise with John Hardman’s concerns if family situation and education shortfall continue to churn out kids with no work ethic, all the schemes in the world won’t work.

It may be morally repugnant, but keeping these kids on menial benefits and sweeping them under the carpet is more cost effective than trying to train the untrainable.

Is relying on foreign labour, who have work ethic, so wrong if our social structure and education system is falling short?

A shocking view, but then it wasn’t that long ago the UK officially was at the forefront of the slave trade, sending kids up chimneys and down mines.

More controversially, as a unionist and a son of the debatable lands of Dumfries-shire, I would be most interested to hear the views of Scottish farmers on your First Minister’s visit to Europe after Brexit. She looked like she was prepared to nail Scotland’s colours to the EU mast.

Are you sure you want to jump out of the UK lifeboat, back onto EU Titanic?

John Maxwell

Moor Farm,

Fordham,

Ely,

Cambridgeshire.