THE floods of Somerset and the south of England are a terrible disaster for this country.

Some of this could have been avoided if the Environment Agency had listened to the people who know their land.

Dredging had been mentioned but the agency, in their arrogance, didn’t want to know. I now ask what happened to the dredging of our rivers and why was it stopped?

No doubt the answer will be it isn’t necessary and it costs too much.

Joyce Gee, Kingsway North, Clifton, York.