Sir – I am amazed beyond words with some of the road repair activities locally recently.

The A420 being a prime example. Just this weekend, for some odd reason a reasonably well-surfaced stretch of the A420 near Besselsleigh was randomly resurfaced with tar and chip. A process that wastes tons of material, breaks windscreens and in this weather does not set quickly enough.

It also only follows the contours of the existing surface, so does nothing to address potholes. Yet not two miles away in Cumnor there is one of the worst stretches of road surface imaginable, patch upon patch upon patch, that has just had more painted squares applied to patch yet again.

It needs digging out and resurfacing, even my dog can see that.

I realise the the A420 is the responsibility of the Highways Agency and local roads are local council, but come on.

Also the A420 closure at Shrivenham for seven weeks is a joke, it’s a direct result of initial bad contractors and subsequent neglect. I drive 35,000 miles a year, pay extortionate fuel bills and road fund tax yet still get my tyres and suspension trashed.

I also cycle locally, but the pleasure is removed by having to cycle unsafely in the middle of the road due to the abysmal state of the road edges.

Phil Neale, Appleton