There can be few people who have not seen pictures of the disgusting legacy left by citizens of this wonderful "Place to Be" following the beach party run by DJ Fatboy Slim.

What I find extraordinary is that about 99 per cent of the filth was generated by young people who are supposed to care so deeply about the environment and who are very quick to condemn those who they think are less caring.

I say 99 per cent because I am sure there were some older people there who no doubt did their fair share of litter louting, though I cannot imagine the event attracted too many of the Third Age.

Why, for a start, did the crowd have to bring what appeared to be rations for a month-long siege? It seems mandatory these days to carry supplies for a trek into the wilderness even if you are going out for an afternoon drive.

But if you really can't exist without solid sustenance why not take the empty containers home with you since logic must tell you that empty bags are much lighter to carry than the full ones you brought with you. The sheer thoughtlessness of breaking bottles on to the pebble beach goes beyond sanity.

But if things run true to form it will be the council which will get the length of your tongue as in "They should not allow such things to happen" or "Why have the council not cleared up better? It's long after the event".

I would ask another question. How did you come to make such a disgraceful mess in the first place?

If Brighton has any faint hope of becoming the City of Culture in the near future it has got a major job ahead of it in persuading the citizens to clear up after themselves on a day-to-day basis.

The young, who are supposed to care so greatly about the world of the future, mindlessly drop their trail of rubbish behind them.

I have been invited to do some anatomically impossible things when I have been foolish enough to point out to offenders that we did not want their cast-off rubbish and would they care to deposit it in the nearest litter bin.

They do not want it but neither do we and since they have obviously enjoyed the contents of whatever container they have discarded why should we be the ones to suffer from their lack of consideration?

I wondered if any of them looked at those awful pictures the morning after the Fatboy Slim event and felt any shame or remorse of any kind.

Brighton is their city and they should be proud of it but who could be proud of that festering cesspit? The question has to be asked. Is any event worth such an appalling display of public uncaring attitudes?

What happened to these "holier than thou" members of society who no doubt belong to Greenpeace and Keep Britain Tidy. Were they down there the next day offering to help with the huge task which confronted the council workers?

What is even more to the point, did they take their own rubbish home with them or remonstrate with those whom they saw dumping bottles and bags galore?

I would happily wager serious money no such miracle happened. I don't care how popular such shows are or who is running them. Until something is done about the disgraceful aftermath, I hope they are no part of the future for this city.

Finally, my thanks to a reader who took me to task for wrongly attributing "Oh fat white woman whom nobody loves' to John Betjeman. It was, of course, written by Frances Cornford. Serves me right for relying on my memory.