Now I am in my mid-60s and the grim reaper cannot be a great many years away, I still have questions on a par with the meaning of life, the mysteries of the universe and why many drivers nowadays don't indicate when turning.

Who are the individuals who administer the West Pier Fund? What salary or expenses has each taken from the fund over the years? How much is lying in the account?

In other words, can I see the facts and figures of that organisation? We have seen none published.

My children were infants when the West Pier was closed. Now they are approaching middle age.

We have had to tolerate that rusting, rotting heap of junk blighting our seafront these many years - except when there was a sudden injection of funds and we were briefly treated to high-profile frenzies of activity of cranes, workmen and hammering.

The West Pier continues to be as attractive as a burnt-out car dumped in a rose garden.

I would very much like to be able to tell my grandchildren and, God willing, perhaps even my great-grandchildren, why we have been obliged to suffer that unsightly heap all these years and, perhaps most of all, what are its accounts and in whose interest is it to maintain it and why?

Perhaps there is someone who can give me specific answers. Wouldn't it be nice to see facts and figures?

I'm sure there are many of us who would sleep easier in our beds. Please remember: Silence speaks volumes.

-Robert Byrne, Founder and sole member, Demolish the West Pier Society, Wilbury Avenue, Hove