Funnily enough, were it not for the golf club, the green vista that can be viewed looking westwards from the east bank of the River Arun would not be there today.

Back in the late 1950s Billy Butlin wanted the course as a site for a holiday camp.

It is true that in 1913 a breach occurred in the west bank of the River Arun that caused the course to flood.

Since then, torpedo boat launch bays were constructed, along with associated buildings during the Second World War, while the new moorings and concrete wall being constructed by Arun Yacht Club are consolidating this defence work.

How would the people of Littlehampton react if the waft of rotten eggs already experienced at low tide in the summer was so much worse due to saltmarsh mudbanks?

The golf course is the only traditional links course in West Sussex and provides an environment where all types of birds thrive along with wild animals, including deer, as well as rare plants, yet so close to the town.

There are numerous rare species that exist in the several Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the golf course and these would cease to exist were the environment changed.

The 60 hectares of saltmarsh West Sussex needs to create may soon develop in the Pagham lagoon area as a result of the coastal erosion occurring there.

There is a real danger that the sea will breach the coastal defences to the south of Climping Mill, such as occurred for the first time in the early 1980s.

Were anything to cause the loss of the golf course to the sea it could then mean that the east bank of the river would be the only defence of the town from the sea itself, so possibly ultimately resulting in The Green becoming saltmarsh!

I wish Prof Morton well with his book. I'm sure it'll be a great read for all those, like me, who love local history.

Nick Wiltshire, Littlehampton Golf Club member for nearly 40 years, club captain in 2003, club archivist and local history enthusiast, Kendal Close, Littlehampton

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