THERE is an old saying that the truth hurts.

The Brighton and Hove City Council leader is asking for an apology from Neil Parkin for saying that Brighton is a dump.

I was born and raised in Brighton and lived around the town for some 70 years but having moved out I no longer bother going back due to the normal complaints such as parking charges, graffiti, homeless people, drunks and beggars.

I have to agree with Neil Parkin as the town has gone downhill over the last few years and it will take quite a lot to entice me back even for a short visit.

Brighton and Hove City Council seem to want to waste money on unimportant projects dreamt up by, as someone recently said on the letters page, the lunatics who have taken over the asylum.

One of these stupid ideas is the closing of Madeira Drive which will only lead to more businesses closing down and loss of revenue to the council in parking fees, business rates and money spent by tourists.

Another sore point is the state of the Madeira arches which due to council neglect are now almost beyond repair.

Money seems to be endless when it comes to cycle lanes which will be empty through the winter, even more than they are at present apparently.

The other wonderful scheme is Valley Gardens which will turn into a car park when visitors come back to the town, even more than it did in the past.

I now go to Eastbourne for my shopping as it is far cleaner than Brighton and parking is not the rip off it is in Brighton.

If Brighton councillors ever go to the centre of the town and not just to their comfy little offices in Hove maybe they would see what everyone else sees and then they would appreciate what the complaints are all about.

Brian Langley Rowan Close Seaford