We have seen a massive improvement in Brighton and Hove's street cleaning and rubbish disposal in the past few months.

If this is solely due to the appointment of a new chief executive, then it's terrific - but how useless were the previous chief executive and council leaders, none of whom had an answer to the long-running problem?

For 15 years, we put up with the stinking state of our streets. It just shows there was an answer all the time - with a bit of will and application, anything is possible if you really want it. Clearly the previous leaders did not.

Now it has been shown it can be done, there is absolutely no reason why the other problems that fill The Argus letters pages cannot be sorted out as quickly.

I refer, for a start, to the thousands of abandoned, dumped, burnt-out and untaxed cars that can be seen in every single street in Brighton and Hove.

Despite dozens of new initiatives by various councils and police, nothing positive is ever done.

Please, new chief executive, make this your 2002 priority purge and - along with the new police chief, who has promised more police on our streets - we may at long last start seeing value for our council taxes.

-Damon Davis, High Street, Brighton