Recently, my wife and I were visiting a friend living on Ramsey Road and close to Walpole Road in Peel.

We were looking out down Walpole Road at the sea and I was pointing out that there were six eider ducks and a cormorant close inshore.

We saw a Department of Infrastructure flatbed lorry coming up the hill and it stopped as though to begin to reverse into the alley serving the backs of the properties on the Headland side of Marine Parade.

We then noticed the cab yellow warning beacon come on and the yellow waning indicators.

At the same time there was a woman clearly struggling to push a wheelchair with an adult in it, on the road, across from the wagon.

It looked as though she was completely exhausted and we feared for the safety of the occupant of the wheelchair and thought that she could easily have had the wheelchair and occupant go hurtling down the road.

Before we could ring emergency services, as we were too far away to help, the two male occupants of the DoI wagon had jumped out of their vehicle and ran to help her and the wheelchair occupant.

I do hope that people in authority appreciate the quality and standard of our government workers.

I wonder how many people give the road guys a smile and wave when they are out in poor conditions on road maintenance or sit there in their nice warm cars scowling and inwardly moaning about being kept waiting.

The two guys involved are the tip of the iceberg as we have encountered a number of first rate government staff.

It was humbling to watch their reaction to a potentially dangerous situation.

Paul and Susan Chambers

Maughold

Share your views with our readers.

Write to: Opinions, Isle of Man Examiner and Manx Independent, 18 Finch Road, Douglas, IM1 2PT or email:

Don’t forget to include your name, FULL home address and a daytime phone number even if you want to be anonymous in print.

Obviously, we need to be able to verify the identity of everyone whose letter we publish.

We don’t print phone numbers or full addresses and respect anonymity if the author requests it.

This letter was first published in the Manx Independent of March 30.