WE AGREE wholeheartedly with B J Philpott’s letter in Friday, August 2nd’s Echo.

My husband suffered a stroke and is recovering well but can’t walk too far without a ‘sit down’.

So I was horrified when I took him down to the prom to find that all the lovely shelters with benches had disappeared.

They have been there for as long as I can remember and that’s a long time!

I know the council is keen to encourage young people, but not providing ‘all age’ seating – mainly for the elderly – is a folly, especially when you think that Bournemouth has a large population of retired people.

Walking along the prom admiring the beach and the sea, in good weather and in the rain, is one of the natural attractions of the town, but even benches without shelter from the wind and rain is optimistic to say the least!

CHRISTINE AND JOHN THACKRAY, Elm Avenue, Christchurch