TEN years ago Helensburgh had a good night life it had a nightclub that was open till three. No matter what night you went out it was a good night. Since Bjs closed the nightlife has gone downhill - Mariners, Teak, Ash and Coopers all closed and more recently the Garth shut.

I was out one Sunday recently and there were a total of 15 people out. That was not 15 people in the one pub, that was all the pubs combined.

There are a number of reasons for this, cheap supermarket alcohol, the smoking ban, the recession and the lack of a nightclub.

I would love to see another nightclub in Helensburgh, but with a question mark over the future of Faslane no one will build a nightclub till it is known whether the base will remain open or not. Then there is the problem of where to put a nightclub. You don't want it to near houses so as not to disturb the neighbours, and you need a large enough building, most nightclubs are converted from existing buildings and are not purpose built.

At present there are two pubs open till 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. I think an extra hour till 3am would be better - Balloch, Dumbarton and Glasgow all have places open till 3am. They are our direct competition. A good nightlife also means better business for local takeaways and taxi drivers and puts more money back into the local economy.

Something needs to be done before more local pubs close down with the loss of more jobs.

Douglas Baird, Helensburgh