SIR — Can anyone tell me why every year without fail we, the residents of Poles Lane, have to contact our county councillor, Charlotte Bailey, to ask her to try and get the council to clear the gulleys and gulley pots?

It’s fast becoming farcical that we have to resort to this kind of communication.

Surely the council has a contractor who is obliged to sweep the gulleys at this time of year without the residents having to push them into doing their job?

We suffer regular flooding due to blocked gulleys, and it is no joke to stand out in the rain trying to clear the debris.

We also know the drainage pipes in our part of Poles Lane are blocked, but for years now, Hampshire County Council has kept putting off the necessary groundwork.

We pay our taxes and therefore expect some sort of service for our money!

Will someone in the council please extract the necessary digit and get something done?

John R Bowley, Poles Lane, Otterbourne.