SIR - Recent rainfall has highlighted a problem with cutbacks in highways maintenance.
Several roads in Worcester are apparently no longer drained of rainfall, as large puddles cause vehicles to take avoiding action, or make waves, thus splashing pedestrian passers-by, much to the annoyance of those affected, both drivers and pedestrians!
Surely it is not cost effective overall to abandon gully emptying (with the “drain-licker” vacuum vehicles that used to be a regular sight) to remove silt which, if allowed to build up, causes blockage in the drains supposed to remove storm water. Presumably the costs incurred in clearing the drainage system, with possible associated roadworks, is substantially increased compared with emptying the gulleys on a regular basis to prevent blockages in the first place!
I would appreciate an explanation by those responsible for keeping our roads passable!
TONY HARRIS
Worcester

See migrants rich contribution to UK
Sir - Once again in the Worcester News we have been assailed with a good old Daly Mail style headline from GB Dipper [More than 800 foreigners arrested in Britain since 2012 were killers, rapists and child abusers.]
Might I remind him that over the last 10 years we have welcomed getting on for two million foreigners to our shores. On that basis if the indigenous population committed such crimes on a proportionate basis this country would be a much better and safer place.
To conclude, throughout history waves of migrants have added to the rich diversity of this nation. It might be an idea if GB Dipper got out of his Leominster bunker and travelled around more and witnessed what a rich positive contribution that the latest wave are making to this country.
Clive Smith
Malvern

Candidates scrabble to be least off-putting
Sir - Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the most Tory of us all? It could be the bathroom chant of all the Labour leadership candidates except Jeremy Corbyn as they scrabble for support and try to distance themselves from notions of the left wing and appear as capable of winning back Conservatives.
The Labour party is engaging in self harm while the wider public believe Mr Corbyn would undermine Labour’s chances at the next election. Worrying stuff because in Scotland you need a search party to find a Labour MP.
The party’s charge sheet for its years in government could include such uncool things as presiding over attacks on legal aid, engaging in disasterous wars that have implications today and in the future, and having failed to build houses.
In opposition since May 2015 they have waved through welfare reforms.
Look what happened to the Lib Dems after their five years of compromise on their principles as room mates with the enemy.
These trips to oblivion await parties who abandon their core vote and principles. But as much as Corbyn’s potential for causing chaos is overstated, politics need not be a close run thing between off-the-peg politicians from two main parties saying much the same thing. It works out better to stand for something that provides people with a real choice.
Otherwise winning parties merely become managers. Leadership is not just about management. It is about bringing a sense of direction and getting the best out of the wider nation and not turning electability into a science of manipulating fears and crafting words to win and retain power for its own sake. For effective leadership (which involves listening, but not a spirit of compromise ) you need to be seen as authentic and not synthentic or sycophantic.
Right now we need to be led because the world is changing and dangerous. This contest is forcing Labour to explore its own identity and hopefully to reflect on the social realities that brought it into being in the first place.
Andrew Brown
Worcester

Exemplary care at
NHS endoscopy unit
Sir - Can I allow Worcester News readers to learn of my experiences at a scheduled appointment for a surgical procedure at Worcester Royal Hospital on a Sunday morning?
The appointment was at the Endoscopy unit at 8am. Everybody was relaxed, cheerful and with none of the of the usual overworked look of the staff.
The treatment I received could only be described as exemplary with a very relaxed consultant and staff. Everything was carried out efficiently and on time.
Could I personally thank the staff of the endoscopy unit through your newspaper?
Terry James
Drakes Broughton

I’m a queue jumper, and guilty as charged!
Sir - I am assuming that the moaning about queue jumping is between the Ketch roundabout and the Norton roundabout heading towards the M5.
Well, in my opinion if Worcester highways are stupid enough to waste taxpayers’ money dualling into a bottleneck at the Norton roundabout then surely both lanes should be used. When I travel this way in the morning the outside lane is always empty, so I admit that I do take advantage and go straight to the front past all the queueing traffic.
Guilty as charged.
John Matthews
Worcester