MATTHEW LAVERACK seems either to be ignorant of health and safety regulations or he is wanting councils to turn a blind eye to them, when he suggests in his letter of February 20 that local authorities should take on sentenced offenders to walk along the verges of the A64 to pick up debris in black bags and transport it in hand carts to a lay-by.

As an architect, he should know that the A64 roadside verges are nearly all adjacent to drainage ditches put there to facilitate an easy run-off of water from agricultural land.

Just because an offender needs punishment, they also need to be protected by people who use their services as part of community payback.The debris may include hazardous substances such as asbestos waste or even used drug syringes and other drug detritus.

Who knows what people dump or fly tip?

H F Perry, St James Place, Dringhouses, York.