So, the owners of the Grand Ocean Hotel, in Saltdean, have decided to jump on the "asylum seekers get rich quick" bandwagon.

The hotel, with the potential to house 580 people, is bang in the middle of a residential community too small to absorb such an influx.

A great strain will be put on the community's schools, doctors, social services and police.

Regrettably, if the experience of other coastal towns is to be taken into account, there will be an increase in crime, notably burglary and drug dealing.

The profits will go to the owners of the hotel, while we, the community, pay the social and financial cost.

The hotel will no longer be a hotel and, as such, Brighton and Hove City Council should ensure its facilities meet the regulations in force for what will become a multiple-occupancy building, particularly the fire regulations. Every effort must be made to thwart this endeavour.

I call on the council to act on our behalf in making the most vigorous protest to the Government over this and to instigate a thorough inquiry into the decision and who was involved.

The affair has an unpleasant odour about it.

-David Elliott, Ashdown Avenue, Saltdean