WHY on earth do we British use the word “hero” so inappropriately, to the extent that it is devalued?

We have a sad culture of glorifying losers and second-raters, which is why we so often fail to pull our weight on the world stage in so many situations.

Yes, the England team did well to get to the semi-final of the World Cup but having taken the lead in the first half, they were then totally outclassed for the rest of the match.

They lost to a better team from a country with a population of less than one tenth of England’s.

How does that make them heroes?

In my mind heroes are all those brave people, including our divers, who rescued the 12 boys and their coach from the flooded caves at Chiang Rai in Thailand.

A risky operation which had never been attempted on that scale before and in which a Thai Navy Seal, regrettably, lost his life.

Heroes are the firemen who rescue people from burning buildings, or those who put their lives on the line to save a comrade in a conflict situation.

We really must stop devaluing true heroics when using the term to describe also-rans.

This applies not just to sport but to all walks of life.

One final point, can we please stop repeatedly bringing up 1966 when England actually won the World Cup.

It was 52 years ago for goodness sake and we should be ashamed of the lack of success subsequently, rather than keep harping on about how great we were two generations ago.

John Morris
Seaview Road, Woodingdean, Brighton