ON reading the article in the Packet, I do wonder what on earth happens to people when they become councillors. I am sure that they do not throw their own money away when at home.

You might try and find out what the recent "full condition survey" cost with regard to the condition of public footpaths, ie whether they are obstructed (which is so often the case) or unsignposted, or both. I am a rambler and a keen walker and have been on at the county council for years to try and get them to fulfil their statutory duty of keeping the paths clear and walkable. I asked the specific question "how much did the survey cost?" but they would not tell me. It must have cost an awful lot and it infuriates me that the council could have got pretty much the same information "for nothing" from parish path wardens, including myself.

That money should have been spent on getting workmen out with tools to actually clear the paths. I realise that this is far too simple and straightforward for the bureaucratic mind.

To return to the water question - I did not know that council workers drank so much! I have worked in various offices most of my working life and simply cannot recall anybody drinking water at all, let alone vast quantities. Tea and coffee, yes, but never water.

Miss P Collier, Ellen Close, Mount Hawke, Truro