I find it hard to believe that the Brighton Wheel decided to have maintenance carried out in such appalling weather conditions last week (The Argus, January 3).

What possible maintenance could be carried out in strong winds and driving rain working at this height?

Even doing any kind of work at street level, it would be difficult to concentrate in these conditions with the wind blowing cold rain against the face.

Lines and harnesses were used but even so these could become tangled and caught on parts of the structure.

Just suppose the maintenance men had got into difficulty working at such a height in those conditions – guess who would be called: the fire service.

Fire-fighters would put their lives at risk to save them.

In future, if the Government gets its way, such incidents could be attended by crew members of nearly 60 years old.

To the owners of the Brighton Wheel: was this work that desperate that it could not wait until a calm spell of weather?

Or was it down to the loss of possible revenue if such work was undertaken on a nice sunny day?

Mick Janes, retired firefighter, address supplied