Bullying of children is as old as schools themselves but that does not make it more acceptable.

It may have seemed amusing to fans of Frank Richards when he wrote his stories about Billy Bunter many years ago.

However, bullying is no laughing matter to children being systematically threatened and hit in today's schools.

That is why a new hotline to stamp out the problem is being set up in Brighton and Hove.

It's one of several measures being undertaken by the city council to stop bullying being accepted as part of school life.

The biggest bullies are usually the biggest cowards and the more they are confronted, the less they will make the lives of others a misery.