One of our great joys on Christmas Day is to come down to Lyme Regis.

In most years we meet up with friends. It is a most welcoming place to spend a few hours in the presence of other like-minded people enjoying the splendour of the Jurassic Coast.

This year in particular, with the threat of exposure to this awful Covid virus, we avoided entering the close confines of the local hostelries.

As such we were confronted by the fact that the council had closed, although illuminated, the public conveniences. We were not the only people in need of these facilities. In fact we observed some in dire need!

Would it be too presumptuous of me to assume that your local council has joined the fossils of the nearby cliffs in their decision-making process?

Do they believe that visitors to your lovely seaside attraction have morphed into ‘avatar form’ and thus have no human needs?

Russell Darbyshire

Somerset