VALERIE JACKSON, of Drew Street, Brixham, writes:

I have read in the Chronicle about the tiresome appealing for funds for the tourist information centre and I personally find it quite outrageous.

Why? Because in the late 1970s and into the ’80s, Dartmouth’s TIC was a small kiosk on the end of the Boatfloat, just across from Lloyds Bank.

This was manned by me and a lot of other ladies. We did not get paid, we did it for our town.

We were, all of us, well aware and knowledgable of Dartmouth’s long history. We advised families about where to go, where to stay and what to see. We were a mine of ­information and we passed this on to tourists. We did this ­voluntarily, with more than an element of joy, to boost our town and to welcome visitors.

I have in recent years visited the new, posh TIC merely out of curiosity.

I have found on too many occasions the staff to be cold and unfriendly – no smiles, no welcome, a ‘just doing our job’ attitude. Times have moved on, but why?

And now this. Does Dartmouth need, at some considerable expense, this newly built information building with its upkeep and paid staff, when some years ago I and a few other Dartmouth ladies provided the same, possibly more friendly service to the tourists coming to our town?

The kiosk at the end of the Boatfloat is still there. Need I say more?