As a Bevendean resident whose home was flooded recently, I would like to reply to the letter from Richard Butler, estates manager for Brighton and Hove Council, who defends the tenant farmer accused of spreading slurry on his land just prior to the recent flooding.

He says it wasn't slurry but ordinary manure the farmer used, but could Richard elaborate on the finer points of slurry versus manure? Perhaps he wouldn't mind if a cocktail of "ordinary" manure, watered down with any chemicals used on the land, other contaminants, topsoil and water were poured into the ground floor of his home, but many did.

He also states one month's rain fell in one night, causing underground streams to run to such an extent they overcame dykes, leading to the severe floods witnessed.

However, he forgot to mention the tons of topsoil which ran off the fields and hillsides, filling our gardens, paths and homes.

Was this entirely due to the underground streams, or could it be that vertical ploughing on a very long, steep hillside above a residential area could have contributed?

Possibly rolling the fields before the end of the wet season also contributed to this extremely rapid run-off of rain water and topsoil. Could it also be partly due to the fact soakaways have never been maintained?

-Name and address supplied