The unwelcome glare of bad publicity has once again been shining on the estate of Whitehawk in East Brighton.

Youths who took part in a violent incident there have been given sentences including terms in jail.

The account of how they terrorised the neighbourhood and threatened police is not a happy tale.

It would be easy from this and other incidents to conclude that Whitehawk is a no-good, no-go area full of vandals and criminals. Easy but wrong.

Whitehawk does have more than its fair share of deprivation and poverty. There is undoubtedly an unpleasant core of yobs and thugs there.

But the vast majority of Whitehawk people are honest, decent and hardworking. They need all the help they can get to build their community.

That help has been concentrated in two main initiatives - the New Deal and the East Brighton Education Action Zone, plus a score of more minor ones.

Together they aim to improve run-down schools, offer training and jobs and engender a real sense of pride in the community.

Although some efforts have failed in the past, this double-pronged attack seems to be working because of the huge amount of money being pumped into Whitehawk and the genuine involvement of the community.

There will be other black days for Whitehawk in the future. But their number should decline as the rebuilding work continues until the estate becomes a name and address people say with pride.