I AM always pleased to see the government investing in road and rail improvement and services in Wales and always very critical of subsequent governments who are obsessed with the South East of England. However, I must question the Welsh Assembly announcing the investment of “£600 million Metro boost” in the South East of Wales where the road, rail and services including employment and salaries are so much better than the rest of Wales.

I write to ask should the money be allocated to projects in west Wales where the railways have seen little improvement since they were built by Brunel over 150 years ago which now claim an average speed of 55 miles per hour from Paddington to Fishguard and I am told it is 45 miles per hour to Pembroke Dock.

The dual carriageway ends at St Clears and was built over 20 years ago with little spent on the A40 which is the main artery into Pembrokeshire and onto Southern Ireland.

What has been spent on the A40 between St Clears and Canaston Bridge since is a disgrace to the people of Pembrokeshire.

Without an improved rail and road link in this area we are going to see the acceleration of houses being sold as retirement or holiday homes and the exodus of our young people in search of work having being priced out of the housing market.

This in turn will see the decline of our agricultural industry, which has always being the backbone of the area, and the closure of our rural schools, churches and chapels.

We saw what happened in Scotland at the last election and I must ask if the present trend which is encouraged by government is not reversed will the same happen in Wales at the 2020 general.

SIR ERIC HOWELLS CBE

Llanddewi Velfrey