I HAVE lived in Brighton since the late 1970s and the town and now city has always attracted men and occasionally women to find refuge on our beach or streets.

The numbers of people living on our streets has fluctuated but has never been eradicated, despite the attempts and promises by various council administrations over 40 years.

Although some of those on our streets have previously lived here in more suitable accommodation, many more have travelled here to live rough from other parts of the UK and in a few cases from other nations.

In the 1990s I founded a charity called FareShare that now distributes nearly 500 tonnes of surplus food a year to charities, many of which meet the needs of homeless people in Brighton and Hove and in other parts of Sussex.

I co-ordinated the Cities Street Pastor scheme for five years and in that time met many of those who sleep on the streets of the city in the area between Rock Gardens and Preston Street, between North Street and the beach.

In 40 years, I believe we have never been better served by the police, parts of the council and the voluntary sector when it comes to co-ordinated activities to address the needs of the street sleeping community.

Having just spent time with a few of these agencies I am confident that this continues to be the case.

I would urge all commentators and politicians who think differently to look a bit harder and actually examine the facts, rather than relying on prejudice.

For the rest of us, giving cash to beggars exacerbates this problem.