IF one looks at the ariel view of the River Thames flowing through Oxford, from Wolvercote to Kennington, one will see that the width of the river is not constant.

It is narrow at Wolvercote, wide through Port Meadow, narrow through Osney where it splits into two to surround the area of Osney, then wider again after Osney Lock, narrow through Folly bridge, and wider again through the Isis, where the River Cherwell enters.

After that, a tributary at Long Bridges takes the water through the south of Oxford area before returning to the main Thames at Kennington.

All the flooded areas in the south of Oxford were filled with refuse by Oxford City Council back in the ’60s and ’70s – namely the field where Redbridge is situated, the field opposite, both sides of Kennington Lane, and behind what is now Go Outdoors.

I worked for Oxford City Council during the above period as a refuse driver, and along with others, tipped thousands of tons of refuse in all those fields. Meadow Lane, on the Iffley side of the Thames, was landfilled first.

No thought was given in those days to climate change in the future. Now, people in the south of Oxford are paying the penalty, and I for one cannot see it getting better.

COLIN SMITH, George Moore Close, Oxford