Government figures for 2000-2001 show that 55 per cent of new council tenancies in Brighton and Hove are given to "vulnerable people - not elderly", as against the national average, which is 15 per cent.

Unable to find out from staff who these mysterious people are, I am forced to the conclusion they are those junkies, alcoholics and other antisocial people from all over the UK who gravitate here and are then foisted on the decent majority.

The obvious inference from these figures is that elderly people are not considered "vulnerable" enough to be prioritised for housing, despite those who do secure a flat being mugged and victimised regularly by their antisocial neighbours. It is almost impossible to get rid of these neighbours, too, because they are said to have "special needs", which is how they got housed in the first place. So there you have it. If you want a council flat, move to Brighton and Hove, get drunk, attack a pensioner, say you suffer from a medical condition - complaining loudly about your "rights", of course - and our councillors will welcome you with open arms. But not into their back yards of course - most of them live miles away from any council properties.

-Ian Hills, Blackman Street, Brighton