I FEEL I must write in defence of Bolton Council over the recent heavy snowfall experienced across the borough. Many roads were gritted and drivable before 8am that morning.

However, I must confess that I too found the roads gridlocked, and spent two hours getting into the town centre from Wingates.

The one thing that constantly sprang to my mind was that, as the roads had been gritted and were drivable, I could see no obvious reason for the traffic gridlock -- so where were the Traffic Police doing their bit to keep things flowing?

The roundabouts at Chequerbent and the Junction 5 slip were dangerously congested; the traffic lights at the Hunger Hill end of Beaumont Road were gridlocked; traffic could not move in any direction. A judicious bit of "arm waving" by an authoritative figure could have eased the flow of traffic.

So, don't blame the Council, please -- they do not have sole responsibility for keeping the roads free-flowing, and they did do their bit. We all seem to forget that.

Mrs A Redburn

Dixon Street

Westhoughton