Sir, I appear to be always criticising West Sussex County Council Highways Department, but quite frankly they deserve it.

Last Friday we were returning from a short holiday in Somerset and having suffered the A303 through Wiltshire and finally having negotiated Guildford, were delighted to be travelling on the A281 towards Billingshurst, assuming an easy ride for this last part of our journey.

Wrong ; having reached Alfold, we found the B2133 closed. Now, you would think this was not a major problem for people who live locally and so we continued on the A281, only to find that at Rudgwick the A281 was also closed. Again, living locally, you would think the minor country road through the Haven would offer an alternative route but, of course, this was the only option open to everybody, including buses and heavy lorries, hence the fact that there was a mile long queue to access the A29 at Five Oaks, having had some near misses with articulated lorries on the way.

Now, it would appear that these were organised road closures and not the result of an accident, or other emergency and goes to prove my suspicion that West Sussex Highways not only don’t know what they are doing, but also haven’t the slightest clue about the roads in their area and of course, see the poor old motorist as just a nuisance to be punished for having the audacity to drive a car.

I would add, that it is not only the Highways Department, but WSCC generally that is useless, having spent well over half an hour the previous Monday negotiating Chichester, thanks to a so called by-pass, that could have been replaced when a previous Conservative Government offered WSCC the money for a new by-pass, only for the Council to dither so long about whether it should be north or south of the City, that the offer of funds was withdrawn.

Robert Bishop

42 Broomfield Drive

Billingshurst

West Sussex