LAST July, we visited Boscombe to recapture my childhood (so I thought). To say I was stunned at what I saw is an understatement.

What was I expecting? Whistons toy store, the Seagull pub, the Salisbury bars – good times.

I saw a community on its knees. Drug addicts, alchoholics and chavs frequented every corner.

As I walked down Sea Road (the last time I did that was in 1974), I could see the divide – the bottom half with the reef and its revamped front was a million miles away from the top of Sea Road.

I remember going back home and crying. Boscombe will have to stay in my memory, because I don’t want to remember the reality.

MARK PAYTON, Bond Way, Hednesford