ONE can’t help but feel a tad sympathetic towards Oxfordshire County Council.

Over the last few months, the county has endured more than its fair share of extreme weather and, not surprisingly, its effects have been particularly harsh on our roads.

We’ve all seen the holes and cracks appearing before our eyes. Even the M40 had to be closed yesterday morning while the Highways Agency carried out emergency repairs on newly-formed ruts.

The county council says it works “hard all year round to deal with potholes” on Oxfordshire’s roads.

And while some of us may doubt OCC’s claim, the repairs bill for this rounds of meteorological mayhem is going to be high.

And someone has to pay... us.

What is needed then is value for money and consultation with countries that receive extreme weather on a regular basis and yet still manage to function.

After all, if they can do it, why can’t we?