Last week, something happened in my house I thought I would never see - my wife announced it was the last time she was going to go shopping in Brighton.

It is impossible to find anywhere to park where it does not cost the earth to stay for even a short time.

It is also an unpleasant experience getting there and negotiating the obstacles.

There is a one-way system which sends you round in large circles if you make one slip and turn left down the wrong road - and there is no going back.

And then there are the so-called traffic-calming schemes which narrow roads so only single-file traffic is possible so, of course, one car waiting to turn right can hold up many cars behind waiting to turn left.

Finally, the lack of good and varied shops in the so-called shopping centre is disgraceful. It's okay if you want to buy the latest fashions or computer games and DVDs but there is little else to tempt people to endure the struggle to get there.

So congratulations, Brighton and Hove City Council, you have alienated one of the greatest shoppers in history. She could shop for England given the chance but because of your war on the car and your efforts to get them all out of Brighton, you have lost an asset to Brighton shops.

I am sure the council will say they do not hate cars but, as a car owner and driver, I know different.

-John Plowman, Woodingdean