I read with interest the first piece of election literature that dropped through my door.

In fact, I will read every political leaflet that drops on the mat.

If a party has taken the time and trouble to produce the thing, the very least people can do is read it.

But I wonder how many other Worthing residents share that opinion?

It is an all-too predictable disgrace that, come election night, more than 65 per cent of the electorate won't even bother to vote.

Such apathy is mind-boggling, especially when you consider what the election is all about - choosing a council to administer a budget it gets from the public through council tax.

I wonder how many people who complain about their council tax bills actually bother to vote?

There is a strong argument that if you don't exercise the right to vote, you cannot complain about the standard of the local authority that is elected.

I'm sure if people thought harder about how local politics affected their lives, the prospect of taking 15 minutes to go to the polling station wouldn't be so unattractive.

Perhaps it is the continual bickering of party politics that scares people off - or simply bores them.

I have always thought the council would be a far better place for the people of Worthing - and the councillors - if national politics was kept out of it.

Whether people would vote for local personalities instead of parties remains to be seen.

But unless something is done very soon about the electoral system, the ruling party on the council could soon be elected with the backing of fewer than 20 per cent of the town's inhabitants.

That is scandalous.

As a Special Constable I was very pleased to see members of the new Sussex Police Community Support force on patrol in Broadwater last week.

Having these people on the streets will go along way to restoring public confidence in the force.

They will do a job which will go a long way to making Worthing a nicer place to live.

Perhaps one of their first places to patrol should be Broadwater Cemetery, which has been so disgustingly targeted by vandals.

Anything that stops such scum carrying out these horrific acts in such a sacred place is commendable and should be wholeheartedly supported.

On the subject of scandalous behaviour - this time by an elected authority - I went to watch my son play football for Thomas A Beckett First School against Elm Grove last week.

The children played out two exciting matches on what can be best described as a postage stamp of a school field.

I can recall a time when the school had playing fields big enough to incorporate two football pitches.

But what was once grass now makes up a housing estate next to the school, a result of Margaret Thatcher's short-term greed is good policies of the Eighties.

The people who allowed it to happen should hang their heads in shame.