SIR — Could somebody please tell me why the National Trust finds it necessary to clear the stream at Bossington with a mechanical digger?

While I appreciate it needed some clearing, I cannot understand why they need to destroy wildlife in the process.

There are water voles in this stream and I informed the person in charge of the clearing of this but was told he’d seen no evidence of them.

So I phoned the Somerset Wildlife Trust to see if they could do anything, and all they did was ring the NT office at Holnicote and get them to phone me.

The NT told me they were aware of the water voles and the work was being done sensitively. I said I didn’t call using a mechanical digger sensitive and they said there was no other way of doing it.

I told them they could always do it by hand but they said they hadn’t got the manpower.

Also, they don’t leave the debris on the side for a day or two for wildlife to get back into the water.

Sensitive – I don’t think so!

A Grant,

Bossington.