ON THURSDAY last week I travelled to Malvern and had the opportunity whilst in the usual traffic queue to admire the wild flowers growing on the verges on the approach to the Air Balloon pub, near Birdlip. I was excited to observe a sizeable number of pink orchids among the grasses and other flora and thought at the time what a useful support to bio-diversity such wild areas afforded.

On Monday, I found myself on the same road travelling to Herefordshire and looked forward to enjoying the same spectacle but I was deeply disappointed as contractors had been sent along and had mowed down the whole lot.

These precious orchids having been destroyed in full flower have been prevented from seeding and thus will not spread at all this year. There is no visibility issue that necessitates such mowing for road safety reasons and other parts of the same road are left to nature as indeed they should be.

We hear from councils up and down the land that their budgets are continually squeezed by government and that services must be cut so let me make a simple suggestion to the highways department responsible for such issues: unless there are road safety reasons, leave the verges alone and save us the costs of this unnecessary and unwelcome civic vandalism.

RICHARD LUTWYCHE

Dryft Cottage

South Cerney