I have been a cyclist for more than 40 years.

My son Cory and I were cycling towards a level crossing at Angmering station and at the time the barriers were down to allow a train to pass through.

Traffic to the right of us was stationary and there was ample room for us to ride in single file on the nearside.

My son was behind me on his cycle. The front door of the passenger side suddenly opened, I hit the door and spoke to the occupant on the passenger side about it.

The driver of the car got out and came up to me and became very aggressive, threatening to assault me.

At this point I called 999 for police assistance, only to be left a message on my mobile phone from the police asking me to go to Worthing Police Station to report it.

They gave no reason why they could not attend.

However two officers did come the following day at a prearranged appointment and they said as there were no witnesses there was nothing they could do.

Well I thought my son was there but that doesn’t count.

I feel the reason they could not attend was quite simply the cuts in expenditure in the police force and you don’t have to be a genius to work out who is responsible for that. Look no further than Westminster.

My father Harry Tooley was a police officer for more than 40 years, giving unblemished service to Sussex Police and he had eight commendations to his credit.

Of course they had plenty of officers when he was pounding the beat and a lot of crime was solved then.

I think the Government needs to look at this as we have the best police force in the world.

Graham Tooley,

East Preston