I read with some concern in The Stamford Mercury that Lincolnshire Highways Department proposes to install, at an estimated cost of £60,000, 21 speed bumps in Stamford town centre as part of a scheme to impose a 20mph limit through the town. In case you are unfamiliar with Stamford, it is a small market town of 30,000 inhabitants and, through a combination of parked cars, delivery vehicles, pedestrians and narrow roads, it is virtually impossible to exceed 20mph as it is. Stamford Town Councillors are so concerned at this proposal that they have called an extraordinary public meeting for next Tuesday.

I propose to speak at this meeting, so must marshal my facts. Do I recall correctly from your articles about speed bumps that the points against them are that they cause damage to the road surface on either side, damage to vehicle tyres, damage to vehicle suspensions, produce shock waves that damage nearby buildings (Stamford is well known nationally for its ancient stone buildings) and cause increased pollution and noise as a result of the stop-start progress imposed on traffic?

Is it likely that vehicle and building owners could sue local authorities successfully for the kind of damage I mention? It is, of course, possible that this is an example of the tried and tested government tactic of putting forward a ridiculous proposal to generate a public furore in readiness to follow it up with the real, less extreme, proposal, dressed up as "responding to public concern" but I do not want to take any chances.