No matter which way you look at it, the demise of the Clock Tower bobby in Brighton is a shame.

The force said having a policeman there 24 hours a day every day was a luxury it could no longer afford.

Senior officers insist the introduction of community support officers should adequately compensate a public demanding high-profile policing.

But shopkeepers, shoppers and many readers of The Argus do not agree. The very sight of a bobby, they said, deterred crime and made people feel safe.

The decision to axe the post was defended by Chief Inspector Lisa Pearcey, the well-respected city centre police commander. She said the post made no impact on crime figures in the area.

That is not what her predecessor Chief Inspector Stuart Harrison reported soon after he launched the idea last year.

He said the area around the Clock Tower generated an average 128 calls to police each week but after the launch calls dwindled to two or three.

Shops would support that and today they are lamenting the bobby's departure and say the drunks and druggies are returning.

It is curious that with the force so keen to tackle anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime among the public they should choose this time to withdraw the officer.

One Sussex Police insider said the force sometimes forgot who paid their wages.

That too is a shame.