In a certain sense, I cannot believe that, in the year 2014, I would have been compelled to write a letter of this sort, underlining the sheer incompetence of the persons in charge and behind the digging of a 600-metre long trench in Church Street, Xagħra over the past few weeks.

While one can acknowledge the importance of such works and the intrinsic nuisance they might cause, one cannot accept that the road was not patched up in a decent manner after the machines had moved on.

In fact, the trenches were quickly filled up with a very loose aggregate mixture of concrete and gravel. To the astonishment of us residents, the trench was not covered with any asphalt before the road was re-opened for traffic.

The end result if that the filler-material is quickly giving away and the street is now littered with dust and gravel stones. Moreover, this situation is causing the trench to become eroded, forming potholes that are quite deep.

The road has become dangerous to local and foreign pedestrians, cyclists and people with prams, as car tyres toss about stones as they travel along the road, apart from the damage they inflict on home doors and parked vehicles.

One hopes that the persons in charge of these works, and the competent authorities, see to it that the situation is rectified.