John Potts, of Kingsdown Crescent, Dawlish, writes:

On a sliding scale of Teignmouth's troubles, I would have thought the problem of a few motorhomes parking on the seafront would be about zero.

Or is it that thefts, burglaries, assaults, vandalism and general anti-social behaviour are so low, some folk need something else to fret about?

Councillors and a few Mr Angrys seem to regard it as 'freeloading' and a major issue, with some almost hysterical outbursts. As the Michael Winner advert advises: 'Calm down, dear.'

Sales of camping cars have rocketed in recent years and Teignmouth should be embracing this popular trend, not vilifying owners, as Alan Ashby, a former hoteliers' chairman, did in last week's letters column.

Modern motorhomes are fully self contained and centrally heated, hence the increasing trend for all the year around use. A lot of owners are retired, with the time and money to tour in the winter, and spend freely in the towns they visit. Most camp sites close in the winter, and not everybody wants to pay out for facilities they do not want, such as entertainment complexes with bingo and karaoke, swimming pools, and play parks.

Friends of mine from Brixham stayed on Teignmouth seafront last weekend for a night, and told me they enjoyed wandering around the town in the evening, spending about £40 on meals and drinks.

Surely Teignmouth businesses – and Teignbridge Council – should be trying to attract this off-season trade, especially with the looming economic cuts.

The solution to vehicles staying too long on the Upper Den Carriageway is simple – limited waiting. Trying to enforce a no motorhomes sign would be virtually impossible – what is the legal definition of a motorhome?

At the moment there is unrestricted parking, with many of the vehicles left there all day by commuters with little room for shoppers or day trippers. A two or four hour maximum stay would abolish the free-for-all at a stroke.

Why not allocate motorhome parking bays on the Point car park, which does not earn a penny for Teignbridge between 6pm and 9am, summer and winter, and is only full by day during the peak weeks?

A reasonable fee for a limited overnight stop – 24 or 48 hours – would bring in a useful income for cash strapped Teignbridge. All the council car parks are underused assets; something that would not be tolerated in the private sector.

Other towns do it, and virtually every community in France has an aire – an area for campers to park up for a day or two. I once questioned the TIC staff in a small town in Brittany on why they laid on such a welcome, free facility, and they replied: 'Because we know you spend in our shops.'

The mayor of another resort, asked if he had any regrets about about setting up a motorhome parking area, responded: 'Only that I should have made it bigger.'

By the way, the public comments about free parking on the Upper Den are posted on motorhome website forums – attracting more people who did not realise the Upper Den was free of restrictions.

And why do we not hear a peep out of councillors and others about the squalid 'travellers' site festering on a beauty spot on Haldon, which has been legitimised with refuse collections at the council tax payers' expense. Now that's what I call a real unhygienic eyesore.THIS AND OTHER LETTERS IN OUR ONLINE EDITION