I am sure I am not the only reader horrified by the photo of riot police storming a cannabis cafe in Worthing (The Argus, August 12).

Since, according to your report, police had been keeping the cafe under observation for months, they knew what sort of people they would find inside, including "mums with children and people with walking sticks and crutches", according to one local resident quoted.

So why the shock and awe tactics? Who authorised them and why? Had the police made any previous attempt to communicate with the proprietors and seek a voluntary closure?

Maybe some local worthies should treat themselves to a cheap flight to Amsterdam and see what a cannabis cafe could look like.

It's a more popular tourist destination than Worthing, that's for sure, and likely to remain so.

-Trevor Pateman, Brighton