For too long this country has treated its pensioners like second-class

citizens.

They get one of the smallest state pensions in Europe and life is an

endless struggle to buy food, pay the bills and heat their homes.

As for luxuries, forget it.

Many of those battling to make ends meet fought in the Second World War and watched family and friends lay down their lives.

Successive governments have tried to ignore their increasingly desperate pleas for an increase in the basic

pension without means testing.

On Sunday, hundreds of pensioners will take to the streets of Brighton in a bid to make their voices heard.

Good for them.

But what is this country coming to when our senior citizens have

to march through the streets in a bid to feed and clothe themselves?

The single person's allowance of £66 a week is a pittance and it is about time the Government stopped

dithering and did something about it.

Get it write

Residents at Brighton Marina have been banging their heads against a brick wall.

They launched a protest petition when plans for new flats and a car parking complex near their homes threatened to block their sea views.

Campaigners claimed the scheme contradicted assurances given before they moved in that any new

development would not affect their light or outlook.

But now it turns out that, in planning law, homeowners have no automatic right to a protected view unless they have entered into a binding legal agreement before purchase.

Consequently, the scheme is likely to get the green light from town

planners tomorrow.

There's a lesson for us all here. Make sure you get everything in writing.

Home to roost

A Peregrine falcon has apparently taken up residence atop Brighton

University's Cockcroft Building in Lewes Road.

It may be a chick hatched in May from a clutch of eggs at Sussex Heights, home to two peregrines, the only pair to breed in Sussex for decades.

As the peregrine's favourite evening snack, the town's pigeons have claws for alarm.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.