I refer to your report and comments (The Argus, June 11) regarding graffiti levels which "have been brought to a three-year low".

If ever there was an example of "looking through rose-coloured spectacles", this is it.

I have lived in Brighton all my life and it is tragic our city has degenerated to the state it is in.

One only has to drive through the streets to see the situation is out of control and the fact the council has someone to prepare ridiculous and meaningless statistics to claim matters are improving, only shows they are blinkered and wasting public resources.

We need a full-time team of cleaners to remove graffiti, including the repainting of post boxes/electric sub-stations/lamp posts etc that seem to attract posters, paints and stickers.

Sub-contractors are not cost effective as they seem only to do the minimum to ensure their profits (see New England Hill as a typical example).

Furthermore, rather than punish the culprits with meaningless community service, get them to spend a few weeks cleaning up their handiwork. Then, we would see a dramatic improvement.

-Paul Johnston, Hove