Be very careful with an old-style meter

IT is a long time since I have seen an analogue gas or electricity meter,

right, but anybody following Martyn James’s directions for reading one (The Sentinel, May 16) could be producing a grossly inflated reading.

He says you should pick the closest number to each needle. In fact, where a needle is between two numbers you should pick the lower number (unless the numbers are 0 and 9, when you should pick 9). Just picking the closest number could result in a reading 10000 units too high for the left-most dial.

NEIL LOMAS CREWE