The buses are still quite capable of serving the village with just a small amount of co-operation from both residents of the “Eller Drive Estate” and the council and its workers.

The bus company tells me that it had complaints about the service diverting through the estate two years ago when part of Hall Lane was closed.

It could not tell me the nature of these complaints and said the residents were double parking so as to hinder the passage of buses.

I personally used the service frequently during that period and saw no evidence whatsoever of such practice.

If there were complaints then just how selfish can people be when there are many very old people who rely on the bus service to get to the shops and cannot walk the half-a-mile or more to their nearest bus stop on the A10.

Surely the polices should be taking action against these residents.

The buses can get through at the bottom af Long Lane as the bus company has informed me that the 9am 38 bus is being allowed through the village as it is a school bus.

I regularly use this service which commences at Gravelhill Lane at 9 o’clock.

There are never any schoolchildren on it, which is hardly surprising as the children have to be at their school in Back Lane before 9am.

There are plenty of cars in evidence at the school but never a schoolchild on the 38 bus!

If it refers to the “schoolchildren” then why don’t the very old age pensioners matter?

It is not as though it is impossible for the buses to use the whole of Hall Lane without some co-operation all round and the estate could easlily be used as a diversion.

It takes me personally about 15 minutes to walk to the nearest A10 bus stop and I am usually loaded with heavy bags of shopping on the homeward journey and there are many much older and more infirm than I am.

CALLOUS

I find the whole way that this matter has been handled an example of callousness and gross incompetence on a grand scale.

The bus company even got the dates of the proposed closure wrong!

It put notices on the bus stops in mid- August saying that the road closure was with effect from August 18. I had to personally contact the bus company to explain the traffic was actually still being diverted along the road that was supposed to be closed.

It turned out that the council and the water board had given the bus company incorrect advice and that the closure would not come into effect for several weeks.

Anthony Hassell, 20 Fir Tree Drive, West Winch