Save hedges from flails

SIR – Major John Carter (Letters, October 8) is spot on about hedge-cutting. Step away from the flails, you landowners!

Follow the Game Conservancy Trust’s excellent booklet, A Farmer’s Guide to Hedgerow and Field Margin Management. Berries usually disappear between January and March. Cut when they’ve gone.

Our uncut hedgerows are groaning with berries and full of wildlife. The flailed ones near here are almost devoid of blossom in spring and fruit in autumn, and offer little shelter. Alison Walsh and Eva Gordon Lillingstone Lovell, Buckinghamshire

SIR – Walking my dogs along the byways of west Norfolk, I realise the benefit of good estate management.

Here, ancient hedgerows flourish for the protection of wildlife. This year, especially, there is an abundance of various berries. Perhaps it signifies a cold winter ahead . Avril Wright

Snettisham, Norfolk