I'M quite surprised at the Conservative angst expressed in last week's letters column about my intervention into the utilities/road-up programme in Bewdley.

I called for a radical consultation scheme between the utility companies and the county council, not just in Bewdley, but in Wyre Forest and the rest of the county.

I made this call at a recent Conservative-controlled cabinet meeting. No one listened. Most people agreed the recent road and water main replacement scheme produced a chaotic effect in Bewdley for traders and residents.

I am given dozens of council jobs to do for Bewdley residents on a very regular basis and will continue to do this service for them.

I am Labour's opposition spokesman on the environment and have a county-wide brief. I am also Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest and roads are a constituency issue.

NIGEL KNOWLES Prospective Parliamentary Labour Candidate for Wyre Forest, Worcestershire County Councillor Welch Gate Bewdley