The report on the muddle surrounding St Catherine's Lodge Hotel (The Argus, October 26) mentioned the lack of information made available to local residents. But on the fate of the homeless families who were moved into the hotel, it was silent.

Until a few days ago, my 14-week-old baby and I had been housed in the nearby Sackville Hotel for several months. We arrived back one evening to find our possessions carelessly thrown into a large number of bin-bags and were subsequently informed we, along with seven other families, had been evicted and should have left by 5pm.

None of us had been given any notice, either by Brighton and Hove City Council or the Sackville Hotel, which had apparently been informed of the evictions only that day. All the families concerned included young children and babies, pregnant women or elderly and disabled people.

These individuals became homeless through no fault of their own, other than runs of extreme bad luck.

On the front page of The Argus a few weeks ago, an article expressed surprise and disbelief the council could have the audacity to house these homeless people in a three-star hotel, thereby using a large chunk of the council's budget. It would not take a genius to work out that our hasty, almost illegal, evictions would consequently mean fewer homeless families in the Sackville Hotel. This would, in turn, enable the council to announce it could be "tough" on the homeless while conveniently saving money on housing expenses.

A full investigation should be made into why the council felt compelled to treat vulnerable families as little more than a herd of cattle. The reason for this activity appears to have no other explanation than political gain.

-Clare Gaunt, St Catherine's Lodge Hotel, Kingsway, Hove