While talking to my son and asking how his life in the police force is going, he told me about the problems he experienced last Saturday at the Fatboy Slim concert.

He was quite angry that, because of the size of the crowd, although expected, there were only 35 officers. This equals 0.18 of a police officer per person.

It is in my mind unreasonable, with a crowd of this size, to think the event would pass without any incidents.

On talking to my son, who was a corporal in the armed forces and quite used to dealing with potentially dangerous events, I was disgusted to learn the police were not properly equipped for an event of this size.

To elaborate on this, there were no batteries for radios and no ear pieces. My greatest shock was there were no protective vests.

The army would not be expected to go to war without the proper protection and arms. Nor would the fire brigade attend a fire without proper protection so why are the police expected to attend potentially dangerous situations unprotected and ill-equipped?

A threatened or actual stabbing of a police officer could have taken place, the officer would not have been protected and would not have been able to call for help with a radio because of lack of batteries.

I understand the policeman's job is to protect the public and uphold the law but, surely, their protection is paramount?

I am not a whinging mother but, having lost a son in a work-related accident only two years ago, I do not want to lose another.

I work in a hospital where everything is about budgets and understand the police force has the same problem. A protective vest costs £80. How does that equate against the loss of someone's life?

-Mrs J Greenway, Bridge Road, Worthing