A recent Argus report on the flooding in Bevendean suggested health problems had been exacerbated because a local farmer put slurry on his land some weeks earlier.

As the farmer in question is one of our tenants, we know this is not the case. He has been fertilising the land with ordinary manure.

The fact one month's rain fell in one night caused underground streams to run to such an extent they overcame dykes which led to the severe floods witnessed in Bevendean.

We are not trying to minimise the effects of what happened - indeed council officers were working throughout the night with the clear-up operation - but we feel we must set the record straight.

In our view the farmer is farming the land responsibly and not putting residents of Bevendean at any risk whatsoever.

-Richard Butler, Estates manager Brighton and Hove Council