Surprise, surprise - Andrew Garrood (Letters, May 22) lives in London Road, Brighton. Let me just say that people who live close to Shoreham airport will not think The Argus is scaremongering when passing opinion on the airport.

During the Second World War, we lived opposite the airport in Old Shoreham Road. The logic of Mr Garrood's argument is like saying that beach residents should not live on the beach because of the fear of floods. But it does not make these residents any the less concerned that floods might happen.

When we moved to Lancing, Shoreham airport did not have a hard runway but, like Topsy, it has "growed and growed". If cars created the same noise as made by some of the aircraft, they would be banned from the roads. One man's pleasure is a hundred men's misery.

Does Mr Garrood feel the same about train crashes, even if there is no loss of life, getting headlines in the Press? I feel powerless as an individual to highlight our concerns. We rely on The Argus to do this for us.

-Mrs Jean White, Old Salts Farm Road, Lancing