In the not-so-distant past, the result of a Land Registry search would show what entries had been made since the date of the office copy entries from which the search was made.

This was all very straightforward.

Now, of course, when any changes are made, the registry issues new office copy entries and attaches them to the result of the search, stating that changes have been made.

One then has to carry out a 'spot the difference' exercise.

This normally involves checking the top and bottom of each page of the old and new entries to spot any difference in the position of the entries that would indicate that a change has been made.

The last thing one wants to do is to have to check the whole title all over again.

Regrettably, the exercise is made more difficult by the fact that one is not told by the registry how many differences there are.

As an alternative to this exercise, I contend that the registry could revert to the previous arrangement and provide for the computer-generated result of the search to show the changes.

John Thorpe, Hillman Smart & Spicer, Eastbourne, East Sussex