The Victorians had some clever ideas, one of which was to counter the effects of coastal erosion by erecting breakwaters along the beaches of Brighton and Hove to reduce the force of waves.

Unfortunately, the value of these installations does not seem to be appreciated by the council. In recent years, there has been a regular practice of levelling the beaches with a mechanical shovel, to redistribute the shingle which has been displaced by the waves.

During this process, the breakwaters have had shingle piled up against them, to such an extent that the one at the Hove/Brighton boundary has been reduced to a piece some five metres in length.

Surely, it would be sensible, before the winter storms set in, to clear a good depth of shingle away from the west faces of the breakwaters, so they can be effective at the job for which they were designed.

-Dennis Simmonds, Brunswick Terrace, Hove