SIR, Returning home this week I was alarmed to see a mechanical hedge cutter at work in Osbaston Lane, massacring an old field hedge near St Mary's Road. I asked the operator if he knew that his actions were illegal, namely disturbing birds during the mating season. He said he had been instructed by the County Council Highways Department to cut the hedge on the roadside. In fact, he also cut the top of the hedge down so that no foliage now protects the inside of the hedge and it is completely open to predators, crows, etc. Any birds that were incubating eggs or feeding nestlings will have long since deserted. Several were seen later fluttering around the scene of devastation. The Highways Department say they were forced to act because of complaints from the public about briars, but why this exaggerated response? Does every employee have to have a machine to ride on? A man with a bill hook could have done the job quietly. Why was it necessary to ravage the rest of the hedge in such a drastic manner? I wonder what is the use of our laws to protect wildlife if they can be flouted in this way. No wonder our garden birds are disappearing. I also thought poison sprays were not to be used, but they have been in Forge Road recently, as an unsigned notice proclaims. The Highways Department need to explain themselves. Lorna M. Riley (Monmouth)
