Sir – As one of the many who were trapped in the John Radcliffe Hospital car parks — it took me 2hrs 12mins from starting my engine in the Trauma Unit car park to getting on to Headley Way and another 55 minutes to reach home in Witney — I believe that questions must be asked of the responsible highways authority concerning the factors taken into consideration when scheduling such works.

In this case, the works seemed to be of a relatively minor nature and the benefit derived from so carrying them out must clearly have been outweighed by the overall costs, both material and ‘psychological’ to the road users, including emergency services, involved.

One would like to be assured that proper assessment is made of the consequences of any particular highways maintenance decision and that, even in the case of an obviously awkward location like that in Marsh Lane, the almost dramatic experiences of last Thursday are avoided.

Alan J. Bennett, Witney