searching by _'s problem :(

Hi list, i've got a small problem. ok two small problems. i've made a small search box which searches by local town and postcode. the town is fine, but postcode is giving me hassle. firstly i need to convert the value i get from the form, so it has no spaces in between (as thats how they are stored in the mysql for various reasons. i use: $srch = str_replace(' ','',str_replace('.','',$srch)); $srch = "%".$search."%"; to get rid of the spaces, and then to make the search wide ranging. Problem - the first bit doesnt work, and $srch still has a space in between :( Also, english postcodes are like: AA1 5AA . Even if i convert it to "AA15AA", what I need to do is put 3d and 4th letters as wildcards ("_" in sql i hear). But how can I if its a variable ??? :(( Any help would be nice!! TIA! /sunny __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/