THE suggestion of a pontoon by Sir Michael Spicer MP is, I fear, a very poor make-do and mend solution to the problem.

With others I attended Sir Michael's surgery at the Memorial Hall on Saturday, November 3, specifically to question the practical applications of such a scheme which, at this stage, appears to be ill thought out.

We made it clear to Sir Michael that the only solution as we see it is the raising of the road to the level of the bridge approach section which, of course, is never flooded.

Upton is an important river crossing and, as such, this work should be a priority. Why is it that, when it comes to infrastructure, Upton always seems to draw the short straw? Be it flooding or a bypass, our politicians at both national and local level seem to be bereft of both influence and persuasion.

MR C F TAYLOR, Hanley Castle.