I READ with interest of a 'review' into the Twin Sails Bridge.

Let me save the Council the trouble.

As any GCSE physicist knows, the work required to lift a weight (in this case each arm of the bridge) increases with the distance from the fulcrum (the main bearing pivot pin).

The design of this vanity project bridge means that instead of having two relatively short spans, like the old lifting bridge, that are close to the fulcrum, we have two full width spans, which require enormous effort to lift and huge hydraulic power.

The simple solution is to re-engineer the bridge back to having two half-length spans, each the full width of the road over the channel. Since there is already a lifting mechanism on each side, this is not as difficult as it sounds and will result in a conventional bridge that requires much less force to lift and hence is reliable and easy to maintain. No 'half tonne main bearing pivot pins' are required and neither will the hydraulics be under such strain. Why do you think the old bridge has lasted so well? Because it obeys the laws of physics.

Poole needs a bridge that works, not a white elephant vanity project.

ANTHONY J VICKERY

Sandbanks Road, Poole