A REPORT on March 12 appeared to criticise the contractors working for Yorkshire Water on a flood prevention scheme in Portland Street.

I live in Portland Street and my wife and I have found all the contractor’s men to be conscious that their presence is a bit of a nuisance; and they cheerfully and courteously do all they can to minimise the inconvenience.

They may have been here weeks more than we were warned at the outset, but any civil engineering below ground level in the centre of an ancient city is bound to be unpredictable.

Surely, the witty alteration to the Yorkshire Water placard was intended more as a friendly joke to tease the men, than as a real complaint?

Roger Lake, Portland Street, York.