I must agree with recent letters regarding our local road ­surfaces, especially the section between Kingsbridge and Totnes with its countless ­potholes.

If I worked for the Devon or local councils and travelled our roads daily, I would feel ashamed that road surfaces could be so poor on important links to this area.

We are told repeatedly that the South Hams is a tourist ­destination, with jobs reliant on visitors, but what must people think as they travel around our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty? Unless they think it is to preserve an ‘olde worlde’ look.

If money should become available for road repairs, it could be cynical to say a well-paid ‘surface kombat inspection department’, or Skid for short, would be appointed that would then carry out a lengthy strategy by counting and measuring the potholes, leaving just enough money for a bucket of chippings and a spade.

Sadly, many of our services have stood still or disappeared during the long spell of austerity measures, with an ex-chancellor telling us constantly that we were all in it together and must tighten our belts. But now the same ex-chancellor switches from ‘doom and gloom’ to ‘greed is good’ as he now has more jobs than I own belts.

I don’t expect things to change for some time yet as we continue to pay money in with very little back, with the pay gap at the top continuing to increase – just like our infamous potholes.

Patrick Hayman,

Washabrook Way,

Kingsbridge