Further to Kevin Dyer’s rant about “builders’ vans” and their drivers, I would add that the majority of these guys are the salt of the earth.

Their boots are muddy because they toil in crud that most of us would object to, and wear T-shirts because hard toil makes one hot.

Driving about is regarded by the tradesman as a necessary evil. To ride about is not productive; it’s a nuisance but to work you need materials.

Of course the inside of a tradesman’s vehicle is a tip; it is his refuge, office and canteen.

As for vans that “are barely roadworthy”, a vehicle either is or it isn’t.

Dents, bashes and scrapes are all part and parcel of a working vehicle. They may not look nice but that does not mean they are unroadworthy.

They often need “a run at an incline” to avoid holding up following vehicles. To bawl at them is to anger them.

They will tell by your body language what you feel about them and respond accordingly.

Treat them with the respect you give others and they will respond accordingly.

Give them a break, they are good guys.

STEVE PALMER, Mewburn Road, Banbury