THERE can be no doubt now that the flood work in Upton has been a disaster for the town.

Yes, a few riverside properties were able to get insurance once the wall was built but the rest of the town and wider area is really suffering.

Water is now deeper in Hanley Road and East Waterside every time the river bursts its banks.

These recent repeated closures of Hanley Road make everyone think the town is shut. The whole project was planned and managed by PR people – engineers might have realised that if you restrict the water in the town it will just go somewhere else.

When locals told them that would happen, the response from the Environment Agency was insulting and patronising but the levels confirm the locals were right. The flood gates leak and need huge diesel pumps to keep the levels down – really, they should be removed along with the wall, but all the town can hope for is the level of the Hanley Road near Countrywide is raised and that work is done soon.

DAVID ENGLISH

Welland