SIR - As a resident of Kempsey who has been blighted for many months now by the extensive remodelling of the Ketch roundabout at the junction of the A38 and A4440, I would like to bring your attention to a detail of the scheme that appears totally wrong.

My serious concern is with the drastic narrowing of the carriageway width that has recently been carried out on the northbound A38 approach to the roundabout at the junction of Taylors Lane, right opposite the BP garage at Clerkenleap.

I have measured it and the reduction in width is 2.4 metres (8ft) leaving a carriageway width just wide enough for two lorries to pass.

I contacted the County Council Highways department to ask why this was done and the engineer in charge told me that it was to comply with visibility when existing Taylors lane - a junction that has been extensively used for many years and had it remained as it was still had perfectly good visibility. When I questioned the engineer about this, he changed tack and said that it was to slow traffic down when approaching the roundabout. I pointed out that when vehicles on a wide carriageway are suddenly confronted with a narrowing of the road it will be an accident waiting to happen. Also, when travelling southwards from the new roundabout, the narrowed section takes drivers into the right-turning reservation for vehicles going to Astons Coaches yard.

I was told that the design of this scheme had been audited by independent assessors and found to be acceptable, but when completed, the scheme would be audited again and if found to have failings in any way the contractors would be brought back in to revise it. The engineer said the design concept would not be revisited until the project was finished, at which stage any rectification, involving tearing up completed work, would be done then. When I pointed out that this would mean wasting taxpayers' money, and pointed out a similar case at the roundabout at Whittington, he said that this was the way they worked.

I am left with two conclusions. Accidents are very likely where the road has been narrowed, and, we will end up paying additional money to rectify a situation that could be addressed now.

TREVOR GREENS Kempsey