I cannot think of a worse idea than a Brighton Marathon. Have Brighton and Hove City Council forgotten how small our city really is? Imagine closing 26 miles of the city's streets for ten hours during a weekend. What if the Albion were playing at home or there is a fixture at the racecourse?

When will the council learn that Brighton and Hove is not a shiny toy they can take out and play with when they feel like it.

Perhaps an influx of up to 30,000 people will boost the economy on paper but how will the shops and businesses on temporarily closed streets, full of spectators, be able to trade?

Brighton and Hove is getting ideas above its station as any born and bred Brightonian who has recently visited parts of Whitehawk, Moulsecoomb or London Road will tell you.

Let's get the entire conurbation of Brighton and Hove on the right track economically and help those who suffer from social exclusion before we try to project ourselves as the cultural centre of the world.

For me and many others, Brighton is a place to live in, not to be seen in.

  • Tim Hodges, Kingsley Road Brighton