You report beach huts on Hove promenade are changing hands for about £8,000.

Since a beach hut only costs a few hundred pounds, we are talking about huge sums being paid for tiny plots of land which are actually owned by Brighton and Hove City Council, which claims to be short of money.

There is something wrong here. First, the council needs to take back the leases at the first opportunity and let the huts annually or even daily, as more clued-up councils such as Bournemouth's does.

Next, the council needs to address this enormous unsatisfied demand and raise cash at the same time. There is ample scope for this between the Palace Pier and the Marina.

But what does the council do? Much of this stretch of seafront is almost derelict and when the council does develop, it gives us "beach" volleyball and "beach" football, which could perfectly go anywhere other than near the sea.

I have been on the waiting list for a beach hut for more than ten years. I applied for one within walking distance of where I live. I need it to ease the pain of my arthritic condition by taking a daily dip. Much more than the relief of pain can be found in the sea, since the demands of the watery environment give scope for exercise of mental powers which more than compensate for loss of mobility.

Modern Brighton originated in the 18th Century when much the same discovery was made.

This council needs to pay attention to the city's seabathing heritage, which the bestselling Georgian writer Fanny Burney identified as the sole reason for Brighton's existence.

-David Sawyers, Brighton