Sir, – For 25 years, or however long it has been since the Environment Agency introduced its “green" policies, the teams who used to clear the rivers and streams of trees were disbanded and replaced by lawyers, so nothing has happened since except for the publishing of “Living on the Edge” which tries to put the responsibility on Granny by the river bank.

However, the danger cannot be denied and is building up every year. What is going to happen is that the falling trees will be taken out by floodwater and when it happens, will block the bridges, causing a huge flood behind the blockage and, possibly, take out the bridges too.

Where would Yarm’s traffic problems be without the bridge? Already the A67 has been blocked for over a year because overgrown trees were pulled out of the bank by a flood while the EA blissfully ignores the problem and someone else foots the bill for their failure to follow past procedures .

What is needed is to bring back the old river boards and drainage boards taxed with the job of keeping the rivers and streams flowing which was done quite economically for the previous centuries until the theorists of the Environment Agency took over.

We are approaching the problems faced last year by the Somerset Levels all over England, not only the Tees.

It has to stop before it gets much worse!! but the recent Parliamentary enquiry into the Environment Agency and its purpose and funding did not touch on the fundamentals.

I hope every MP, particularly the MPs responsible for the Tees, walk the banks and note the number of trees too big for their roots now leaning into the river and waiting for the next flood or the one after it, to sweep them away instead of having them taken out before they can be a danger by a squad of local men tasked with the job.

R W SUNLEY

Crofton House, Yarm.