Each time I’ve passed the spot in the last few weeks, I’ve imagined more of the conversation. “Hello, BT here. Is that Mr Local Bureaucrat - the chap responsible for Western Road’s general state of repair?” “Yes, that’s right.” “Good. We’d like to dig a bloody great trench across the entrance to Irelands Lane, to do some work on our lines.” “Sounds great! But you’ll have to promise to leave the place in exactly the same condition as you found it afterwards.” “Ohwww . . . do we have to?” “I’m afraid so. Why on earth not?” “Well we’ve got some porridgey stuff we can pour into the hole - it’s wonderful. The surface stays black and level for, oh, several days, particularly if it doesn’t rain. And because it takes five minutes and costs almost nothing, we can give more money to our shareho . . .I mean, keep our prices lower for our customers.” “That’s a very persuasive argument, sir. Let me see, my employers would like their town to be tidy and well-maintained, but BT want to make money. Hmm, no question - go ahead. One thing though, you’d better make sure your repair looks no better than the other hundred or so badly-filled holes around the town - we don’t want it to stand out.”

I’m sure this is really a complex subject, there’s much I don’t understand. At the heart of it, though, is a simple question: why do the councils, acting on our behalf, accept such vandalism of our streets in the name of profit-making? Why should Lewes look worse than it did yesterday?