Row over rough sleepers’ giant city-centre tent
A GROUP of homeless people has angered local businesses by pitching a family tent in a busy city centre street.
Companies have complained about the 6ft-high tent in Princes Place, Brighton, close to the iconic Royal Pavilion.
But the city council said it had “limited powers” to move tents – and one homeless man said they would be dead without it.
Chef Peter Papp, who works opposite the tent at restaurant Bella Italia, said: “It’s not very nice for people to see tents in the city. They’re everywhere now.”
The council said the tent was not blocking a public highway and would not be moved.
A spokesman added: “It has been visited by our field officers.
“But the legal powers we have are limited.”
There are roughly 9,000 people on the council’s housing register and 15 homeless have died in the city in the past six months.
QI have an Ingersoll pocket watch which shows Dan Dare with a reptilian-like creature. It’s quite old and in very good condition. Mike Birch, Rochester, Kent
Comic book hero Dan Dare was famously dubbed the world’s number one space hero.
He appeared on the front cover of the first
Eagle in April 1950
– and pristine copies of that issue can make £900. Your watch is also from the 1950s and is quite rare. And, Dare I be so bold, it is worth £350-£400 with the box.
Good luck.
We just wondered if you could tell us anything about a toad we own. We think he’s bronze, and is 7cm high and 6cm long. We’re curious about where he is from and how old he might be. Brenda and Joanne Martin, via email Your piece is really unusual. I haven’t seen a bronze or metallic toad like this before and while it’s rare for me to be stumped I admit that I am! My gut instinct is that it could be very old – for example, the piper’s adornments appear to be ancient – and really quite special too. You will need an in-person appraisal on this – perhaps at a museum – to get to the bottom of it. In general terms, frogs and toads are really collectable and have been for years. Their popularity, to my mind, is only second to horses and dogs.
AQA