Sir.-I would like to add my comments regarding hedgerows in the borough.

"Hedgerow hacking" has halved the habitat for wildlife around the Down Grange playing fields in Kempshott, Basingstoke.

Last autumn I watched at close quarters as one giant machine smashed its way indiscriminately along the edge of the hedgerows, ripping the hearts out of small trees and shrubs.

I stood in the path of the destruction and wondered if the driver would stop. He did at the last minute, and I retreated.

Since then, many small trees have collapsed. The hedgerow is thinning, and cover for wildlife this winter has been wrecked.

Should I have stood my ground?

Would horrific headlines have saved the hedgerows?

-Janet Bamber, Coniston Road, Kempshott, Basingstoke.