Roadworks in Mill Street, Qormi (in front of Joinwell) involved the digging of a trench along the side of the road down from the HSBC Operations Centre to Zamco.

When the trench was originally dug, the private contractor, without any advice, commenced works before allowing the staff working at HSBC, BAT and PWC to park in the garage in Triq R. Farrugia, thus blocking the only available access.

After completion, the trench was temporarily levelled but a gap was left in one part as a result of which cars requiring access from the top left hand side of the road had to bump their way in.

Until Tuesday, the trench was cleaned to be eventually tarmacked. People coming out of R. Farrugia Street at 5 p.m. found a trench about six inches deep which, needless to say, was still there on Wednesday morning, thus they had to stop dead to avoid damage to their vehicles.

Leaving construction works in this state is an accident waiting to happen. I only hope that, should this be the case, there would be no one blaming drivers for excessive speed.

I acknowledge that some accidents are due to reckless driving but most are a result of the terrible state of our roads.

And, to top it all, private contractors entrusted with public works adopt a "couldn't care less" attitude, further endangering the public.

When will the responsible authorities shoulder their responsibilities?