I have been watching football since the 1960s and, although I support a Premier League team, I also like to watch Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex.

I had a ticket for the team’s game against Crystal Palace on Monday and decided to use the excellent facility offered by the club to travel to the game for free.

Having arrived at Brighton Station, fans were channelled into a designated area for the Falmer train. At this point, the experience turned into a nightmare.

There were thousands of fans waiting and the train to Falmer, when it arrived, was just three carriages long.

Hundreds of people were allowed to flood onto the train.

The journey to Falmer was frightening. We were so crushed no one could move. There were children on the train clearly distressed and standing next to me was a heavily pregnant lady who was very upset.

The train stopped twice and more people pushed on.

What is the train operator thinking? It is a disaster waiting to happen. Had the train had an emergency or a fire, hundreds would have died. Is this the best they can do?

Why didn’t they control the number of people boarding? Why were there only three carriages?

Once at Falmer, we made our way to the ground only to be greeted by rows of police with vans and riot gear staring menacingly at us all. We all know about the history of Brighton versus Palace games, but there was not a smile from one officer – we were all hooligans to them.

The Amex is a credit to the team and the city, but the travel infrastructure and security is another issue. You can keep your free travel. I will drive next time – if there is a next time...

Laurie Tilley, Ockley Lane, Hassocks