I read of the sale of the two police boxes (The Argus, December 22) with a little sadness as another little piece of Brighton history disappeared. Two of the busiest police boxes will soon be no more. The sum paid for these is tiny compared to the whole of the police budget.

At a time when we are crying out for more officers on the beat, these boxes would have been a great assistance to the public.

It seems the Government wishes to destroy our heritage and history and the disease has been caught by our local government.

When you look around, it is obvious the things you knew and loved, such as the red telephone boxes, the ornate Brighton and Hove bus shelters and the blue police boxes have either already disappeared or are well on the way.

These small and very important buildings have served the public well for more than 50 years. They are part of our local history.

Why couldn't they be saved?

I wonder who really cares? Certainly not the Sussex police authority or East Sussex County Council.

If they are so desperate for this small sum of money perhaps they are not running their finances correctly.

Almost all the police boxes have gone now, including the one that

had to be built on stilts at the Palace Pier which, at the time, cost almost the same as buying a three-bedroomed house.

Police boxes were erected in various strategic places throughout Brighton and Hove as part of the police beat system, which was tried and tested over a large number of years.

Who is to say that system won't return in time?

The cost of replacing these police boxes then would be astronomical and probably totally out of the reach of the Sussex police authority.

Harvest Close,

-Telscombe Cliffs