Letters: Local authorities must answer for the dangerous state of Britain’s roads

SIR – Joanna Dakin (Letters, May 30) is right: quite apart from the failure of local authorities to address the pothole problem, this is now being exacerbated by their negligence in keeping white lines and yellow box junctions in a condition that enables road safety.

In my village there is a very important yellow box junction that has all but disappeared. This is an accident waiting to happen. The same is true of white lines that are no longer visible – particularly dangerous when drivers are strangers to the area.

When will the Government force local authorities to explain what they have done with the money allocated for this purpose?

Ian Crimp
Pangbourne, Berkshire

SIR – Government made it a law that cars must have an annual MOT test to be sure our cars are roadworthy. Surely it should do its part and repair the roads so they are worthy of our cars.

Pam Haworth
Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire

SIR – In years gone by roads were inspected by highway engineers, then defects were noted and compiled into a programme of works for contractors to refurbish.

However, with the quest for data-driven standards, the subjective view of a highway engineer was deemed not measurable.

To that end, National Highways updated an existing document, TD26, to include measurable levels of effectiveness for road markings and road studs. This has been updated to CS 126 May 2022.

Maintenance authorities are mandated to maintain road markings to this measurable standard. Unfortunately, these authorities do not have the budget to repaint the markings, so they do not test them; they therefore have no data to indicate that they are defective.

The days of an engineer looking at a road marking and saying it is unsafe have long gone.

Nigel Bayley
Kidsgrove, Staffordshire

SIR – Some time ago I saw a pothole in one of our residential streets being “repaired”. It had rubble in it, as well as water and a crisp packet. The tarmac was chucked in on top of the lot.

John Brandon
Tonbridge, Kent

SIR – Any reader wishing to view potholes should come to Aylesbury. We are probably the pothole centre of Britain.

A roads, B roads, dual carriageways, side roads – all have potholes aplenty. In fact, one busy road has so many that it’s best to drive in the centre of the carriageway to avoid damaging your vehicle. This makes for an interesting experience when traffic coming the other way is doing the same.

We can also supply several instances of gridlocked roads – any time, any day. So for a real, almost - off-road experience, come and visit this once-attractive county town. You will be sure of a warm but bumpy welcome.

D Richmond
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Probate delays

SIR – Like Christine Hopkins (Letters, May 29), I am an executor of my mother’s will and have suffered similar probate delays. Not only does the process involve waiting at least 16 weeks for the probate registry to process the application, one also has to obtain probate clearance from HMRC prior to the submission to the registry.

Despite excellent service from my solicitors, it took five months to obtain the grant, during which time we lost a prospective sale. The house lay empty all that time – and still is.

The suggestion of speeding up the probate registry is a good one: perhaps our new Lord Chancellor could add this to his to-do list.

Chris Smyth
Dowdeswell, Gloucestershire

SIR – We have been waiting more than 16 weeks for probate to be awarded, but our solicitor feels there is little point in chasing the probate registry.

What is more upsetting is that a large sum of money was taken from my brother-in-law’s estate to pay inheritance tax – four weeks before the probate application.

At one of life’s lowest points, it is unacceptable that this abysmal service adds to the burden.

Mark Hough
Horsham, West Sussex

SIR – I am the sole beneficiary of the will of a dear friend who died last July in South Wales. Her house is the main asset of the estate and a local solicitor is the executor. The house was professionally valued and the estate is within the inheritance-tax threshold. Probate was applied for before Christmas but is still outstanding.

Surely small estates such as that of my friend, which are professionally and independently administered, should be fast-tracked, allowing the probate department to concentrate its resources on the more complicated estates that may need careful investigation.

Philip Dunn
Guildford, Surrey

Compostable carriers

SIR – While on a recent holiday to Italy, I purchased a couple of things in a supermarket. Not having my trusty shopping basket with me, I bought a carrier bag – a large strong bag – for 15 cents. Printed on it was: 100 per cent compostable.

If these bags are available in Italy, why not here? We are still producing millions of plastic bags every year.

Jacqui Archer
Hampton, Middlesex

Sluggish Covid inquiry

SIR – While the Government and the chairman of the Covid inquiry wrangle over redacted documents (report, May 30), most people wonder why we are yet again embarking on a process that will drag on for years, cost millions of pounds and achieve next to nothing.

The real inquiry is about where the virus originated, and we are free to watch the United States do this.

All that will be achieved by our investigation is political point-scoring and a series of recommendations that will largely be irrelevant (or else ignored) by the time they are finally reached.

John Stewart
Terrick, Buckinghamshire

Lessons in gender

SIR – The transgender and non-binary communities demand respect from the rest of society, which I wholeheartedly support.

However, in my role as a teacher in a dance college we received gender training, and I have to say that there was a total lack of respect for my feelings. If a student accuses a teacher of being transphobic then it is accepted that the teacher is transphobic and the teacher has no defence.

This subject has taken over the teaching profession – to the detriment of the education we are now able to provide – not just at the University of Oxford (report, May 30).

Ian MacGregor
London N2

In need and ignored

SIR – I share Iain Dale’s amazement at our “walk on by” society (Comment, May 30). I was similarly ignored by fellow passengers when tripped inadvertently by another’s errant walking stick at London’s Euston station. Not a single soul took any notice as I lay on the concourse floor in shocked discomfort, with some even stepping over my prone figure.

I was unhurt but did not perform well at my scheduled meeting, and have been puzzling ever since over whether I had offended the busy commuters by getting in their way.

Chris McLaughlin
London W4

Short shrift

SIR – My sympathies to Miriam Gosling (Letters, May 29) over her problems getting well-fitting clothes. My own problems lie in the opposite direction.

I am an elderly man who now stands at 5ft 3in. My inside leg measurement is 25in. Ready-to-wear stock sizes only go to 27in, so I have to pay someone to trim about 2in off the bottoms. This usually means doubling the price.

Another problem arises in supermarkets, where goods are often placed at the top of very tall shelves. Tesco and Sainsbury’s are both equally guilty in this respect. I live near Newbury and a lot of racing stables have very short stable workers, so my problems can’t be that unusual.

Peter Williams
Newbury, Berkshire

A new Challenge

SIR – I have been a fan of University Challenge for decades; I wish Jeremy Paxman well (Arts, May 30). I had just got used to him after 29 years, although he was never going to be as lovable as Bamber Gascoigne. May I express the hope that Amol Rajan, the new host, will speak more clearly than he does on Today, in the interest of both viewers and competitors?

Dorothy Woolliscroft
Attleborough, Norfolk

How to get the most out of a trip to the chippy

SIR – Freezing chips from the chippy (Letters, May 29) will introduce moisture – the last thing good chips need. I recommend saving the freshly bought chips in a Pyrex or even a Tupperware container overnight and placing on a worktop.

Next morning, do not simply reheat, but shallow refry in a wok for 10 minutes on a high heat. This double-fry achieves the best possible chips; crisp but not overdone.

Season to taste and serve with a little Sarson’s vinegar.

Guy Rose
London SW14

SIR – I live with a couple of teenagers, for whom frozen chips are a regular late-night snack.

If I suggested they start peeling potatoes and mixing spices (Letters, May 27) when they get in at 1am, I’m confident of their response.

Kate Pycock
Ipswich, Suffolk

SIR – As any true Yorkshireman will tell thee, there’s only one way to cook chips – and that’s in beef dripping.

P N Barras
Oxford

SIR – Who buys frozen chips? We do, albeit reluctantly, as we used to make superb chips from scratch in our deep fat fryer until our kitchen was altered and we found, to our consternation, that built-in fryers were no longer available.

We miss our old fryer, but we do not miss dealing with the problem of where to dispose of used oil.

Diana M Jones
London N12

SIR – In 49 years of marriage I have never cooked chips from scratch.

Indeed, the only chip pan we have ever owned was used exclusively for home-brewing beer. Oven chips are an acceptable alternative and much less messy.

Pamela Yates
Southport, Lancashire

Corvids the culprits in garden disappearances

SIR – Terry Curley (Letters, May 30) asks if avian flu has killed off the little birds in his garden. He says he has magpies, which I suggest are the problem. I have rather a lot of little birds in my garden.

As I write I can see six goldfinches and a couple of sparrows enjoying the sunflower hearts in the feeders.

Despite a number of shrubs for them to hide in, I regularly find the remains of small bird eggs in my garden. There are several very tall leylandii in a nearby garden that house rather a lot of magpies, rooks and crows. They are the culprits.

When I was a child it was a rarity to see a magpie, but now they are everywhere and the small-bird population has decreased.

Janet Milliken
Folkestone, Kent

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