I totally agree with your comments, Karen Pollard, of March 6.

Taking it a step further, could someone from the Wiltshire/Swindon highways department please explain to me, and I’m sure lots of other people who work in the utilities industry out in all weathers to keep the gas, water, electricity and all the other 21st century must-have things going, that if I or any others working in the footpath start to dig without putting out a safe walkway with a saftey zone of cones outside of the barriers to keep members of the public safe, what happens next?

Along comes a highways inspector who creates merry hell until there is a safe walkway set up amidst howls of ‘I’m going to fine you £1,000s’.

Your works are making it unsafe for members of the public so why can’t the same highways department demand whoever is parking on the footpath forcing people to walk into the carriageway, into oncoming traffic that they put up a safe walkway around their car exactly the same way we have to do to shut the footpath for emergency repairs.

We have a duty of care to the general public and our own workforce when this scenario happens. I really do believe this will never happen. I don’t think anyone has the backbone to knock on these people’s doors and demand – no, I should say ask, don’t want to upset anyone, might lose a vote or two – that they park with a bit more consideration for young mums with the push chair, or the person with poor sight who is forced into the road because of these few morons and, God forbid, an accident happens.

John L Crook Haydon Wick Swindon