I was horrified to read of the poor man who spent 11 hours clinging to the fire escape of the Princess Alexandra House Retirement Home in Preston Park Avenue (Argus July 31.) Whilst we don’t know all the facts in this terrible case, it does beg the question of how this was allowed to happen. To be stuck out on that balcony for so long without food and water could have cost him his life.

There have been a worrying number of high profile cases of neglect and abuse of older people in the press recently and I think something needs to be urgently done about it.

As a former care worker myself, I know how vulnerable some of these people are. It is the duty of everyone involved in their care to ensure that they are fully protected from harm at all times.

Cllr Dawn Barnett, Hangleton and Knoll Ward, Brighton