IF I remember my geography lessons, we have to blame the Ice Age for the present flooding troubles.

I think the Welsh Hafren used to combine with the Dee and flow into the Irish Sea but the coming of the northern ice sheet caused it to cut the Ironbridge Gorge.

How does your correspondent suggest it now gets to the sea above Shrewsbury?

I understand that the Clwedog dam was built to control flooding in the Newtown area of Mid-Wales by collecting excess water and releasing it after the wet period had passed. Is this correct? I have never seen it empty.

The recent weather overwhelmed the Welsh reservoirs and although the Fyrnwy is bled off to Liverpool, if it overflows, it ends up in the Severn as does a lot of the Elan after going via Birmingham.

In the catchment area, the Clwedog is a small bucket compared to a bath, but if the reservoir is not emptied properly, this could aggravate the situation.

We all presume that the "authorities" know what they are doing, but is the man up in Wales opening his sluices at the right time? Perhaps it is just that Heaven's sluices are bigger.

BILL MEADOWS,

St John's,

Worcester.

6 PS I still think our overgrown riverbanks should be pruned back!