SIR - Please may we have a full enquiry, with the results posted to the local media, to explain the proliferation of temporary traffic lights on major roads in Worcester over the past year.

At times most of the main routes are affected and the loss of work hours must be colossal. For example, Tolladine Road and Ombersley Road have been affected for weeks. At present we just receive a relaxed sounding comment from the Council on a case-by-case basis. In all of these cases there does not seem to be any sense of urgency by the contractors who appear to work core hours of 9am-4pm, if there are penalties for late-running work, are they being enforced?

The impression to the public is that the Council is indifferent to the delays caused, people arriving late in schools and at work, and disruption to commercial delivery schedules.

The alternative explanation is that the utility companies and their contractors have learned that the Council's requirements regarding road works can safely be disregarded. No loss to them if thousands of people are delayed.

Before further vast expenditure is incurred building new roads around Worcester it would seem sensible to make the present network more efficient.

DEREK FEARNSIDE Worcester