IN recent weeks, you have reported how work on the sewers along the A666 in Darwen has created havoc for those who use the road, but your latest article (LET, January 21) graphically showed just what the local community has to face.

Properties on Blackburn Road and Lynwood Avenue, Darwen, have had to experience flooding for eight months now and North West Water offer residents £75 refunds on their sewerage charges and have the nerve to say their systems have broken down.

This utility has been telling the local councillors and the residents that they would be there to help anyone with difficulties.

But when this latest flooding occurred it was local authority staff who assisted the residents, not North West Water - it took hours to find them.

Added to this is the case of a local child nearly being strangled through indiscriminate dumping of equipment by North West Water, who have still not contacted the parents to discuss what action they intend to take. All this shows that this is an organisation that puts its profits first and the community a distant second.

I would ask your readers to follow our recent 'orange card' example when more than 1,000 cards were distributed to travellers and residents alike to protest to North West Water that they cannot treat communities like this.

To complain, people should write to Mr J Chew, Asset Manager, North West Water Ltd, Lingley Mere, Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington WA5 3LP.

Remember, it is Darwen today, but, next time, it could be where you live.

COUNCILLORS MICHAEL BARRETT, MARY LEAVER AND SIMON DANCZUK, (Earcroft Ward), Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.