SIR, — May I be permitted space in your esteemed columns to register a protest regarding the recent repairs carried out by the District Highways Board on West Street?

While I am aware that modern motoring enthusiasts welcome smooth tarmacadam, I must voice deep dismay at the wholesale destruction of the great West Street Pothole — a pit which has provided character, excitement, and employment for local wheelwrights since the autumn of 1988.

The original depression, measuring some four feet across and six inches deep near the bakery corner, was a landmark of regional distinction. It possessed a predictable rim, an attractive gravel lining, and provided an invaluable test of shock-absorber resilience for visiting motorists from Grimsby.

What have council workmen replaced it with? A shallow, uninspired patch of bitumen that lacks both depth and dramatic tension. My Morris Minor now glides over the spot with distressing monotony.

If this is what passes for municipal progress in North Lincolnshire, I fear for the future of our road network. Where is the craftsmanship? Where is the depth?

Yours faithfully,

MAJOR C. W. H. PONSONBY (RET’D)
The Gables, Skelfleet Marsh