Sir – I am still trying to make some sense of the flooding problem.

Having now talked to a lot of people, I understand that some boats in the summer have a problem getting under the Swinford toll bridge when the River Thames gets lower, because it is shallow.

After all the silt that has gone down the River Evenlode past our mill at Cassington, the Thames must be a lot shallower.

Digging a river bypass round Oxford will not help much. I realise that after all these years the Thames bottom must be polluted – someone has got to grasp the nettle and dredge the river.

Don’t force the landowners to put right what the numerous governments have failed to do since the Thames Conservancy was disbanded; dredging can start now, not in years to come.

Also, the people that may have the water bypass dug past them must make sure they are not treated the same as other riverbank owners and have to contribute to dredging. It will happen eventually.

Roy Partridge, Eynsham Road, Cassington