With Remembrance Day fast approaching, the state of Brighton's war memorial at the Old Steine is a disgrace.

The memorial itself looks neglected, the area around it is often covered with litter and intruders are able to walk around the site at will because the railings are so low.

Tory councillor Geoffrey Theobald has joined war veterans in their calls for improvements to be made - and not before time.

The idea of putting up signs in foreign languages is a non-starter because so many different nationalities visit the town.

But if the railings were made higher, that would prevent the problem of intrusion in the first place.

Almost everyone who fought in the First World War is now dead and to have fought in the Second World War, you have to be a pensioner.

But the horror of those two conflicts is etched deeper than ever on Brighton and on Britain. The council must ensure the place where people pay their respects to the fallen is in pristine condition.