Chipping in a few tourism ideas ...

Of course that's not really the message visitors to the town read when they first see our sign posts, but according to research commissioned by 1066 Country Marketing it should be.

Battered cod and local produce are the distinctive selling points of Bexhill they tell us.

Whereas Rye is noted for its gourmet food and festivals and Battle praised for its rich historical heritage, Bexhill it would seem should be sold on its ability to provide afternoon snacks.

The Observer doesn't wish to belittle those industries - any Bexhillian will tell you we offer some fine chippies and the excellence of our locally grown fruit and veg is beyond question.

But are they the town's best features? One would hope not.

Had the team chosen to draw up the model thought to open their eyes, they would have spotted the De La Warr Pavilion - a modernist icon attracting large numbers of visitors since its refurbishment.

They might have noted too Bexhill's own historical heritage, dating back to Saxon times.

For a town which relies so heavily on the tourist pound to have its stand-out feature named as 'the fish and chips' is simply mindboggling

Quite the most worrying aspect is this work was commissioned by a group responsible for marketing the town to tourists. Doesn't that just fill you with confidence?

One wonders how much money was paid for that piece of flawed research.

Rother councillors were quite right to label the report as nothing short of scandalous.

For their own part, it seems Rother will do their bit to support tourism by keeping the town guide - although their policy on tourist information centres (or a lack of them) still gets plenty of hackles up.

Industry insiders were fearful cabinet may go with proposals to scrap the pamphlet in favour of a single sheet.

But further discussion between officers and traders led to a recommendation to keep the guide in its present format.

Members were still told officers doubt whether it represents value for money, but the strong feeling among local business made it the 'preferred option'.

Quite right too. It's not about what officers think, but what the traders on the ground actually know.

If the hoteliers and the Bexhill Chamber of Commerce and Tourism say they need a detailed town guide, that should be the end of the argument.

May we suggest next year it lists the best places to buy fish and chips.