It seems all too typical of the kind of society we now live in that an event such as the Labour Party Conference should be attended by a stream of bomb hoaxes.

I was caught up in one on Wednesday, widely unreported as far as I could see, when Madeira Drive, Marine Parade and the beach were closed while a controlled explosion was carried out on a litter bin.

The mindless pleasure of those who perpetrate these stunts is hard for ordinary people to understand. But so is that of those who torch cars, cover walls with meaningless scribbles, or attack those of a different nationality, football allegiance, or sexual inclination from themselves.

-Charles Newman, Manchester Street, Brighton