Winter weather

of a 4x4 vehicle.

I was finally incensed enough to write this letter when I was tailgated at very close range (by a 4x4) for doing 25mph on snow-covered roads in a 30mph limit. I touched my brake as a subtle warning to drop back.

Instead, the vehicle overtook me, the driver roaring the engine in obvious dissent.

It then did the same thing to another motorist at the opposite end of the village high street.

This is by far the worst piece of public road driving I have seen since this cold spell started.

For 4x4 drivers who think they’re invincible, I have, in recent days, seen one 4x4 in a hedge and one fighting for control as the driver tried to negotiate a corner. It seems to me that they’re not as infallible as people think. It still requires a sensible driver.

To square things, I have noticed how people, generally, have driven sensibly.

Name supplied, Hurworth, near Darlington.

WHILE we all appreciate the efforts of the emergency services, council road gritters and so on, very often carers, who have battled through treacherous weather to provide care for people in their own homes, are taken for granted or even forgotten.

Homecare workers sacrificed time with their own families during the Christmas and New Year period and have since had to face snow and ice to reach their clients.

For those grateful clients that care can be vital and can include everything from help getting up in the morning, cooking meals, getting washed and getting to bed at night.

For some, the visits they receive from homecare workers might be the only contact they have with another person from one day to the next. A visit by a carer to someone who has fallen ill could even be a matter of life or death.

As a country we can be quick to criticise when standards of care fall short, but by contrast I want to thank those who are currently going that extra mile to provide vital care.

Mike Padgham, Chairman, Independent Care Group (York and North Yorkshire), Scarborough.

AS I write, it is 10.30am on Tuesday, January 12 and residents have just finished pushing an ambulance out of North Cross Street, Leadgate.

Having lived through the great storms of 1941, 1947 and 1963 (when we had urban and district councils) I have never known such poor clearing provision as we are currently experiencing now that Durham County Council is in charge.

Many of our streets, about 800ft above sea level, are currently still not cleared. For days, pensioners have been trapped in their homes, cars have had to be parked on main roads, shoppers have been obliged to walk on those roads and after three weeks our bins are still not emptied.

When phoning the council for help this morning, to clear the street for the ambulance, residents were first diverted to a customer services mantra then to an “action” desk mantra and, finally, guess what? We got no appropriate action whatsoever.

No matter what “spin” council spokesmen put out, we know we have been neglected and expect it will not be allowed to happen again.

Bill Stockdale, Leadgate, Consett, Co Durham.

ISN’T it a pity that the boys and youths who bombard windows and doors with stones from driveways – and now that the snow is here with snowballs and blocks of ice – aren’t employed clearing the compacted ice from pavements.

They could be paid for this work. The stupid stories about being sued if a person falls where the snow has been cleared was probably thought up by an idle being, frightened of manual work.

John A Barr, Darlington.