SIR — During my wartime childhood in Winsford I was fascinated by the variety of solutions to mend broken gates, gaps in hedges etc.

Materials used included barbed wire, binder twine, corrugated iron sheets, old hurdles, old bedsteads and all manner of other materials.

Have no fear, this noble tradition is alive and well!

On a recent stay in Winsford I visited Howtown Lane bridge. What was once a beautiful old bridge has been treated in the same way as hedges etc once were repaired.

There is a very ugly wooden frame backed with plastic covered link fencing. It looks ramshackle but perhaps it is not finished?

The new bridge leading to the village green appears to me to be a complete waste of money.

The simple wooden bridge which it replaced was in keeping with the village centre, and surely a less expensive and more appropriate access could have been provided.

Is it intended, I wonder, to tarmac large areas of the small village green in order to accommodate wheelchair users?

It seems the 'responsible' agencies are not content with committing a folly, they have to compound it to the bitter end.

Winsford has always been famous for its variety of bridges. I hope my parents, who both buried in Winsford Churchyard, are not turning in their graves.

As a real holiday attraction, I feel the planners who have dealt with these bridges should visit the Yorkshire Dales where low stone parapet bridges are common and a monstrosity such as Howtown bridge would never be permitted to be built.

Michael Gardner,

Bournemouth.