I have been associated with Brighton for 50 years, have lived here for 30 and am saddened by the steady bombardment of the opinion page with complaints about how the town is now and how much better it was in the past.

My memory is rather different. The past to me is of dirt and rubbish on the seafront, the homeless hidden away and the poor neglected. I remember unspeakably cramped, decaying accommodation for the poor, crooked landlords, rumours rife of council corruption, vicious gangs and problems with the police.

Despite all this, I loved Brighton and thought it the place to be but now, for all its remaining troubles, it is a far, far better place to be.

-Dr Tony Whitehead, Ovingdean