Dear Editor,
On Sunday I was walking with my husband and adult family along the seafront at Praia da Rocha (we were in the area which is paved for pedestrians to the west of the Miradouro) when I spotted a very large hole in the pavement (approx. 1 metre in diameter and at least half-a-metre in depth).
I was just saying to the family how dangerous it was, when a GNR police car pulled off the road onto the promenade, so I gesticulated towards the car to draw their attention to the hole, not expecting them to do anything other than perhaps say they would report it and/or put a warning tape around it, or perhaps at least put a traffic cone in it to draw attention to the danger, as it was obvious nothing would be done to repair it before darkness fell. In fact, the police did nothing but stare at me like I was the local idiot.
I always thought the police in Europe were regarded as being there to protect the people, especially when on a routine patrol. I can understand that this is the sort of incident which make us all cynical that they are there only to collect fines.
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
