WHEN high winds close the port of Felixstowe, Operation Stack is supposed to keep traffic flowing to the town.However the problems with the system were shown up dramatically today as Operation Stack yet again became Operation Stuck and the peninsula ground to a halt.

WHEN high winds close the port of Felixstowe, Operation Stack is supposed to keep traffic flowing to the town.

However the problems with the system were shown up dramatically today as Operation Stack yet again became Operation Stuck and the peninsula ground to a halt.

Traffic from Felixstowe was backed up as far as Ipswich. That is a disaster for the town. What would have happened if firefighters or the ambulance service had to attend a major incident in the town?

The planned system for keeping lorries that cannot enter the port during periods of high winds on the side of the A14 is far from satisfactory.

A proposal to store the lorries on the old A45 was drawn up seven months ago, but the bureaucrats and officials at the port, police, highways agency and councils have not been able to put their heads together and work out how it will work.

That is pathetic. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue.

Apart from being Britain's largest container port, Felixstowe is also one of the largest and most important towns in Suffolk.

Being on a peninsula, there is really only one way in or out of the town, and it is not acceptable to have that blocked every time the wind increases.

The roads have to be kept clear for all those who travel between Felixstowe and Ipswich for work.

Today's effective closure of the A14 is totally unacceptable. Hopefully it will now force all those involved in the management of Suffolk's most important road to get their act together and sort out the problem once and for all.