I HAD my wallet stolen in the heart of Brighton the other day and it was not a pleasant experience.

The theft took place in broad daylight in what the city likes to call its cultural quarter.

I’d been to buy tickets for a concert at the Dome and pick up more tickets for a play at the Theatre Royal.

It was raining hard and before leaving the Royal, I rearranged cards and cash in my pockets to make sure they were safe, dry and accessible.

As I was walking along New Road towards North Street, I suddenly felt two sharp tugs on my right-hand jacket pocket.

The popper was forced open and the wallet whisked away.

I hadn’t heard the silent snatcher because of his light walk and the heavy rain.

He disappeared at a fast clip into the Pavilion grounds and the few passers-by ignored my cries for them to catch him. As I left the grounds, two other men turned up purporting to offer help. But a few things made me suspect them and I soon left.

The main object of value in the wallet was a credit card and I went into the main Brighton branch of Barclays Bank to report the theft.

They were sympathetic and helped me deal with Barclaycard officials.

Even though it was less than half an hour between the theft and reporting it, five transactions had already been made They were all for sums of less than £30 as the card was contactless and that is the highest sum that can be obtained without a pin number.

I wasn’t hurt but my attempts to replace the various cards are already long and wearisome. And it changed my feelings about Brighton for the worse.

When I reported the theft to the police, they seemed particularly interested in the location near the Pavilion grounds. These gardens were designed by John Nash, the great Regency architect who built the Pavilion, and are much admired by visitors.

They are a pleasant place for people to stroll, offering fine views of the Pavilion and the Dome. They contain several grand elm trees including one older than the Pavilion itself.

The Pavilion Gardens café is friendly and has become a Brighton institution during its 78 years. Yet the gardens are also sinister, especially at night when drug addicts and heavy drinkers go there.

What is disturbing about my misfortune and crimes committed against other people is that many took place in the day. This has been going on for some time and I have heard of several other incidents in the last few days. There is obviously a serious problem and little seems to be done about it.

I have never been scared of walking around Brighton and Hove, by day or night. Yet now I am going to be just a little bit more wary.

I don’t walk well these days because of Parkinson’s disease and this makes me an easy target for the criminals.

But people like me should be protected to a large extent in the cultural quarter of England’s leading arts city. If we stay at home, the criminals will have won and the word will get round that Brighton is not safe.

This will do huge damage to a resort which does ten per cent of its business in the arts.

I know through many years of court and crime reporting that there has always been a criminal element in Brighton. It was for years the only Sussex town with a resident population of criminal families and gangs which were well depicted by Graham Greene in Brighton Rock.

But these villains largely perpetrated crimes among their own fraternity or people closely connected with it. They did not bother so much with strangers.

Now anyone is fair game for the 21st century crook and violence is an increasing problem.

I have been to the rough parts of many cities such as Edinburgh, Paris and London. I have never felt particularly unsafe in them.

But a list was published last week of unsafe streets in Brighton. It was disturbingly lengthy and most of them were in the city centre.

It will be a shame if people are deterred from using some sensationally beautiful streets in Brighton because of violence.

The police have a problem in getting much detail about these criminals, I was not alone in being unable to give a good description of the man who took my wallet because I never caught a glimpse of his face.

Someone told me that there were only 16 officers on duty one Saturday night this month in the centre and that is not nearly enough.

And the Pavilion Gardens, more than anywhere else, must be made safer. I now know that to my cost.