We are writing in support of herbal medicine and Hydes Herbal Clinic in Leicester ("Herbalists are facing ruin", Mailbox, November 4).

We are the third generation of our family (since the early 1950s) to benefit from the outstanding care of Hydes and their herbal treatment.

Family members have been patients of Mr Fletcher Hyde, Mr Cornforth Taws, Mr Arthur Hyde, Mr John Hyde and now Dr Serene Foster, being treated for numerous medical problems along the way – all with great success and without side effects which are so common with the sole use of conventional drugs.

Herbal prescriptions are specifically made for each individual patient, unlike the same medication being given to everyone as with drugs.

In bygone days before drugs became available, herbal medicine was the only kind of medicine available to man, the first recorded use being around 3,000 years ago. Indeed, many of today's drugs derive from plants, for example, Digoxin from foxgloves and morphine from opium poppies.

We fully support statutory regulation for complementary medicines, so that the public will be able to consult fully-qualified medical practitioners such as those at Hydes.

We are living proof that herbal medicine, prescribed by fully-qualified herbal medical practitioners, works!

Di and Ann Vickers, Coalville.