I AM all in favour of outdoor sporting competitions such as the Iron Man race that took place over the weekend, despite the fact it makes getting from one side of Bolton to the other rather inconvenient for the day.

The organisers, marshals and participants are to be congratulated.

However, I do have one little gripe. When I drove up Saint Georges Road to the start of Chorley Old Road, there were two lanes of traffic backed up to the junction of Marsden Road. Can anyone explain to me why the traffic lights at the Saint Georges Road and Chorley Old Road junction are not switched off for the event?

Admittedly there is Thomas Holden Street to think of, from which nothing emerges except infrequently. Even that could be blocked off for the day. Saint Georges Road and Chorley Old Road effectively then become one continuous road without any need for traffic lights at all. Instead we had to sit on Saint Georges Road while the lights kept changing backwards and forwards for no apparent reason whatsoever.

Turning the lights off at the junction would have considerably eased the traffic flow.

Organisers, please put this on your list of things to do for next year.

Roy Caswell

Beverley Road

Bolton