I rarely have the need to wander into Brighton but a fortnight ago, I did.

Knowing the parking problems, I took a bus.

When I disembarked at Churchill Square, I wondered who had the audacity to enter the city as a contender for The City of Culture award.

Built only a few years ago, this area is fast-approaching what the builders did in the Sixties.

Thousands of spots of discarded chewing gum adorn every paving slab. Nothing appears to have been cleaned, with dirt and graffiti everywhere one looks.

Most shop fronts need drastic renovation and overflowing black bags of waste are dumped at will.

I was disgusted that it should be allowed to get into such a state. What an image for our visitors to be welcomed with.

Something, though, can be done about it, as I witnessed last week when I spent a weekend in Paris.

Here is a city with pride which holds its arms open for those who wish to visit. With so many council workers, in bright uniforms, cleaning their streets and removing rubbish, the city positively sparkles with

its commitment to keep the landmarks that everybody wants to see in pristine order.

If it were at all possible, I should like to take our councillors to this city and just say: "If they can do it, why can't you?"

With our council tax rising every year, isn't it about time the people of our city started seeing a benefit to the infrastructure?

What would the people of Paris have done with the West Pier?

Probably they would have seen the folly of trying to repair the wreck and decided to replace it with something the people could be proud of.

-David Spear, Hove