When I read the article on the sewer works taking place in St George's Road, Brighton, I had a strong feeling of deja vu (The Argus, August 11).

Some years ago, I was foreman on a job relaying a new gas main under St James's Street. This was to replace an old gas main which ran through some of the cellars of the shops nearby.

If this gain main had not been replaced, there was the potential risk of an explosion in some of the shops. We had the same griping from some (but not all) of the shop keepers then.

The men undertaking this sort of work do not decide where they are going to work and do not give estimates as to how long the job will take.

With an excavation of this depth, as well as being dangerous, no one never knows what problems can arise.

As for saying they are too slow, safety is the priority and accidents occur when people are rushing and taking chances.

And as to the suggestion that the work should carry on through the weekend, would these same shopkeepers stump up for the extra cost of overtime?

Don't the people whingeing think that working five days a week at this sort of depth is enough?

The public in general and shopkeepers in particular take the most important things - public utilities - for granted.

A few weeks without water, sewage disposal, gas or power would concentrate their minds wonderfully.

-P Richards, Hove