I TAKE issue with Eric Waters - We are all in real danger of being made homeless - in which he states that you should not give to homeless beggars.

Back in 1969 at the age of 19 I came to live and work in Brighton.  Half a century ago there was noone sleeping rough on the streets.

There was full employment and I had no trouble in obtaining affordable rented property.

In 1971 my parents purchased their first home and paid £11,000 for it.  In that year the prime minister’s salary was £14,000 per annum.

Eighteen months ago,  as Executor and Trustee I sold that same house.  Based on the prime minister’s salary, I should have received a mere one hundred and ten thousand pounds for it.

I sold it for half a million pounds.

People like Mr Waters need to realise that it is not just drug addicts and alcoholics that finish up on the streets. 

Every single one of us is just one pay cheque from being homeless.

During a period of unemployment, it was only a very rare and understanding landlord that kept me off the streets.

As for homeless people not being destitute, a homeless person receives less than eighty pounds per week to live on.

People like Mr Waters should try an experiment. 

With no hot water, electricity, or any other means to cook hot food,  could he survive on less than eighty pounds per week.      

Try spending a mere twenty four hours on the streets of Brighton with only ten pounds in your pocket,  then you might know what it is like for homeless people.

Stuart Bower, Hove