Graham P

I would like to add to your poignant example of the many, many ways, over countless years, in which the on-site, highly professional lockkeepers have come to the rescue of river users - whether on boats or on foot - and thereby avoided the dire consequences had they not been there on site - whatever the hour and day:

1. Last summer's floods: if it had not been for the immediate emergency action and ongoing monitoring of levels over several WEEKS by Steve Long at Days, many boats - including our own - would unquestionably have sunk. Such action is not a REQUIREMENT of lock-keepers but, given their professionalism and accumulated experience of hundreds of years, this is what they DID up and down the river, and have always DONE - they are IRREPLACEABLE.

2. A few years ago, at night, we were fired on with an airgun in Cookham Reach - with our sleeping children in the bow. For their safety, we moved to the sanctuary of the Boulters Lock Keeper and his house. This was at about midnight. He was most understanding and helpful, and called the police who came swiftly, thanks to the lock-keeper's pressure and his good professional relationship with the local constabulary. The Lock-Keepers are part of their local communities - to the benefit of all river users. No non-residential lock-keeper location can possibly replace this on-site proactivity, provided by these "front-line" staff who are the REAL managers of the river.

These specific examples should be seen to add to the daily "added-value" that lockkeepers provide to everyone moving on or beside the river - to give fullsome and specific advice to act safely and securely at all times on a dangerous river.

In MOST modern, forward-thinking organisations, it is the FRONT-LINE staff who are given maximum support and treated properly. EA's present proposals appear to be doing the reverse.

Finally, in relation to EA's 7 May news release, it is a distortion of the facts to claim, in their proposed lock renting list, that Days Lockhouse is "not on the lockside". In reality, it lies between the lock, the weir and the sanitary station - all 3 of which require onsite supervision, if EA's duty of care for the safety, security and health of ALL river users is to be sustained..