Letter to the editor: I feel so frustrated on behalf of the pensioners who have been asked to remove their bench (Benchnarked, September 17).

This is another case of health and safety lunacy. What about the physical and mental health of this elderly couple? If there was a fire I am sure firefighters would be able to sweep aside a few flower pots and the bench hardly takes up any space.

If this policy is so important to enforce, how come it has taken 13 years for Affinity to decide that the bench is a hazard? The chances are there is someone new in post who is keen to “make their mark”.

I used to work in a housing association in central London. Someone new was appointed as health and safety manager and all sorts of dictats were suddenly arriving on our desks. The most laughable one was when we were told to remove balloons celebrating a colleague’s birthday because they were a health and safety hazard.

Common sense needs to prevail in such cases. No one wants to live in a sterile urban space and issues such as this are in the same category as felling trees in case a branch falls on someone’s head or their roots cause someone to trip up.

The fact that the bench has been there for 13 years, I feel, sets a moral precedent that they should be allowed to keep it for the duration of their occupancy.

JUDY LAMB, Address supplied